


Shattered Doll

by DarkHououmon



Category: ChalkZone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-05 03:51:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 40
Words: 354,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3104543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHououmon/pseuds/DarkHououmon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place sometime after You Belong To Me. "Tell me, Snap. How does it feel, knowing you have become the most hated zoner in ChalkZone? How does it feel knowing that zoners that once loved you now want you dead? It doesn't feel good, does it? Especially since you can't even remember..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fateful Interference

Here's the mirror. Behind, there is a screen. On both ways, you can get in.

-Gravity Of Love, Enigma

sss

As a world made entirely of chalk, a world where drawings from a chalkboard become reality the moment they are erased, ChalkZone was home to a multitude of different locations, much more varied than what was found in the Real World. Several of these places, like Mount Runny Nose, defied logic and geography. And with all the artists in the world, this place steadily gained more and more unusual and bizarre attractions and places to visit. As such, any map of the place would forever be unfinished.

Restaurants were no exception to this rule. Since the rules of logic were much more flexible in ChalkZone, restaurants didn't just come in the mundane, regular type, as one would expect from the Real World. There were also plenty of strange and unusual ones, with foods that no one had heard of or thought was possible. And even some of the more regular ones could be quite the star, as there were no limitations on what food could taste like, and the skills of chef zoners that were rerased into ChalkZone.

That didn't mean all restaurants were big hits right off the bat. No, there could still be some problems that can occur, and result in the failure of a restaurant. There were various causes of this, such as the creator of the zoner having peculiar tastes that few other people were interested in. These restaurants typically close down, and the zoner ends up looking for a new purpose, a new calling. Luckily, ChalkZone was a huge, diverse world, so there was always something for each zoner to do.

But for those who were lucky enough to be accepted, and to gather up so many customers on a regular basis, life was hectic, but rewarding. They were able to make a ton of money per day depending on how good they were, and their food was often the talk of the town. There was also competition among the best chefs, resulting in new, even more fantastic food for other zoners to try.

But Sandra was not interested in any of that competition. She would rather not soil her pride by participating in a meaningless endeavor. She ignored whatever other restaurants were doing and always did her own thing. She had a different way of making food, and it was good enough to attract customers. She had no need to compete with another chef.

Sandra stood in behind her cash register, her red-colored eyes looking out at the people around her. She had probably twenty zoners in her restaurant, and she had a feeling she'd get more. Her restaurant wasn't that big either, so even just twenty zoners was quite a lot. She was still surprised she had this many customers, though. As a new zoner, she didn't expect to be this successful this fast. She tried not to let it get to her head.

Sandra had only been in ChalkZone for about a month. She was a small, bipedal dragon zoner with a sky blue body and dark blue markings, namely on her feather-like fingers, the tips of her ears, and between her legs and underside of her tail. Her feet, which were colored tan, just like the triangle mark on her forehead, terminated in four razor sharp claws, colored ivory. Her tail had four spikes, slightly darker than her claws, each ending with a wickedly sharp tip. She wore a flexible, metallic armor piece on her chest, connected with tough strings that looped around her shoulders and across her sides, hooking up in the back. The metal piece was shaped like a triangle, pointing upwards just like the mark on her forehead. Resting on her back was a long, thick piece of cloth. Almost like a cape, except not.

She didn't open this restaurant right away. She had to get things ready first. Unlike the other chef zoners, she wasn't drawn with a shop or any ingredients or anything. She was created with the ability to come up with fantastic recipes, yet she had no ingredients of her own. So she had to spend some time, wandering around ChalkZone, doing odd end jobs in order to save up to make this place.

Of course, she could have accepted help from that boy. What was his name? Oh yes, Rudy Tabootie. The Great Creator. He was always willing to help others. She had seen him around ChalkZone, helping out other zoners. Perhaps she should have asked him for help...

Nah, she would have rather him not to. She had a particular way of making her food, and she didn't want to be judged by anyone. Others can say she's stuck up all they want to. But she was not about to risk her ideas getting stolen, and then zoners were taken away from her. It was hard enough to make this place without a creator's help. She didn't want to worry about anything else.

Sandra's thoughts were interrupted when she realized she had another customer. She noticed it was a tall, purple stick figure zoner. It looked to be Lazlo, another chef zoner. She did not feel threatened by his appearance, and not because he was out to get her or anything. He was a chef in desserts only. He only ever made pies, pudding, whatever else. Good for snacks and parties, but it's not like zoners are going to line up and eat at his place a whole lot.

"Hello, welcome to Sandra's Alcove!" Sandra greeted him. She slightly cringed at the name. It wasn't the one she wanted, but zoners already knew this place by this name, and it was too late to change it. "How may I help you?"

"Yeah I'd like.." Lazlo looked up, rubbing his simple beard thoughtfully. He looked at the digital menu hanging overhead, which displayed LED outlines of various meals Sandra prepared. "The special, please."

"The meat roll with rice?" Sandra asked, and the zoner nodded in confirmation. "Okay then, let me crunch that in..." Sandra pressed her blue-tipped finger against the register's buttons. She added in the information she needed, and then said, "Your total is going to be $5.00 even."

"Wow, what a steal!" Lazlo cried as he pulled out his wallet and gathered up a five dollar bill. "Normally places aren't this cheap. At Hotdog World, I have to pay an extra $2.50 for a drink."

Sandra chuckled at this. "Yeah well..." She reached up towards the dollar with her left foot. She used her highly flexible digits to grab the dollar delicately and placed it in her cash register machine. "I do things a little differently around here." She pushed the register closed, the machine clanging slightly from the force. She turned around and headed towards the heavy door leading into the back. She gave the zoner a sideways glance, smiling. "Wait right there. I'll be back soon with the special." Making a motion with her hand, she added, "Have a seat anywhere!"

As Lazlo walked away towards one of the few window booths available, Sandra went through the doors, which led her down a long hallway. She didn't travel down that far. To her right was another door, and as she approached, she could feel warmth coming from it. She opened it up and walked inside.

She found herself in her kitchen. She looked all around, smiling. It was largely automated, which made things so much easier for her. She never hired anyone to help; she ran this place completely on her own. This kitchen, which was an improved version of the one found in Future Dome, was one of the reasons she could do this all by herself. She didn't spend long standing around, and soon she approached the oven located on her right.

Upon getting to it, she put on the specially made gloves and opened up the oven's doors. She took in a deep breath through her nose, the food's wonderful smell bombarding her senses. She was happy to see that the food was ready now. It often took a while to cook, and she usually had to cook it longer than most other food. But the reward was good enough for her to keep wanting to do it. She reached in and grabbed the silver pan and pulled it out. She set it on top and stared at the food she had prepared.

There was a single roll on the silvery tray, which was curved in the center almost like someone tried to stir it while it was baking. It looked absolutely delicious, but Sandra dare not eat it. It wasn't hers. Putting it on a plate, she walked over to the stove again, this time paying attention to the top. She looked at a pot that was laying there and opened up the glass lid. The rice looked like it was ready. Taking a large spoon, she scooped up what little remained of the rice onto the plate.

As she began to take the food back out, holding a bottle of soda in her tail from her fridge, she realized something. She was out of ingredients to make her meat roll special today. This didn't concern her too much, as her specials often change. But it will be disappointing for the next customer. She would hate to bring bad news to him or her, but there was nothing she could do. She would have to get more meat soon. At least she had plenty of vegetarian options in the mean time to satisfy her customers.

Soon she exited the kitchen and returned to the front of her store. She moved around the long, curved desk containing her cash register, and went towards the series of large windows on the left. She could see Lazlo sitting there, his arms resting on the table and his fingers twiddling with each other as he enjoyed the view. The mirrors were one-way; zoners could see out, but not in. Sandra liked that extra bit of privacy she gave to her customers. Something different.

"Hello." Sandra called out, holding the plate in her hands. Lazlo looked over and waved at her in greeting. "Here's your food." She set it down on the table. She put her hands together and lowered her head in a partial bow, a show of respect. "Please enjoy."

"Thanks!" Lazlo didn't waste any time. He immediately dug into the food. Using the knife and fork, he cut off a piece of the meat and put it into his mouth. His eyes twinkled as he swallowed. "This is incredible!" As he sawed off another piece, he said, "What is it? What do you use?"

Sandra smiled as Lazlo enjoyed his meal. Upon hearing his question, she folded her arms against her chest and chuckled. "Sorry, but that is top secret. I will just stay I have my own way of preparing food."

"Well whatever you do, keep it up!" Lazlo licked a couple of his fingertips. "This food is amazing!"

"Oh don't worry." Sandra's smile broadened. "I plan to."

With that, Sandra turned and walked back towards her register. She needed to be present for any new customers coming in. She didn't want to keep them waiting. It took her only a few seconds, moving swiftly between empty chairs and around a couple of her customers, to reach her station. She settled behind it, and waited patiently for any new zoners coming in.

As she waited, she took another look around her restaurant, which had a round shape almost like a dome, complete with metal support arching from the ground and ending in a circle at the top. Even the tables and chairs had a round theme, and her hallway from before had slightly rounded edges. While she preferred sharp edges, she felt more rounded ones were much more inviting. With how many customers she was getting, this seemed to be the case.

She soon caught movement in her eyes. She shifted her eyes upward, her pupils noticing her glass double doors opening up. A small zoner walked in. He appeared to be a superhero of some kind. White skin, with a light blue leotard and darker blue gloves, cape, mask, and shoes. He had large, pure white eyes and a large smile on his face. He walked into the restaurant, looking left and right, clearly admiring the place.

Sandra recognized him as Snap. She had spoken to him in the past before. He had helped her out with the place, bringing some zoners to help build certain parts of the restaurant. He had been one of the first zoners she could consider a friend. He hadn't had a chance to eat here yet, which was a shame. But she didn't mind that he took a while to get here. She wasn't about to tear him away from his creator, Rudy. She was well aware that he loved to exploriate with Rudy and...what was that girl's name...Penny.

"Hey Sandra!" Snap greeted as he approached the register. "I see things are working out great for your restaurant."

"Indeed they are." Sandra replied. She looked down at the zoner. He was a little smaller than she was. She moved her hand towards him, her fingers stretched out, exposing her palm. "And it's in part thanks to you! I don't think I could have had this place up and running if you hadn't brought over those zoners to help. You didn't even have to. You..."

"Oh don't worry about it!" Snap waved his hand dismissively. "It was my pleasure! So uh..." He licked his lips and rubbed his hands together. "Do you have any good grub around here?"

"Well, I..."

Before Sandra could answer, Snap had grabbed one of the small, paper menus she had available for those who wanted to sit down and order a bit later. Something caught his eye. There was no mistaking that smile.

"Oh wow, this sounds good!" Snap turned the menu around and pointed his round hand at a part of the menu. "I woud like some of this, if it's at all possible, please!"

Sandra turned her gaze to the paper menu. She took note of where Snap was pointing to. Realizing what it was, she lowered her ears and shook her head. Seeing Snap look disappointed did upset her. But unfortunately, if her friend wanted menu items and she was out of them, he was going to have to wait and try another time. That was just how she ran things here. Inconvenient for the customers, but easier on her stress levels.

"Sorry, Snap." Sandra said, looking at him sadly. "But that Lazlo guy bought the last special."

"He did?" Snap looked over. He watched as Lazlo finished up his plate and got up from the table to leave. Snap's shoulders slumped and his hands nearly touched the ground. "Oh nuts! I was looking forward to it, too." Sandra looked at him sympathetically. Snap turned his head up and stared back at Sandra. "I wanted to make up for not coming here sooner. I.."

"Oh no no no, don't worry!" Sandra waved her hand in front of her. "I'm not upset about that at all!" She then folded her hands behind her back, her tail swishing from side to side. "However, if you want to come tomorrow, I'll have the special up again. I should have enough ingredients by tomorrow to make a few more. I'll save one for you!" She said, smiling and giving him a wink.

This cheered the little zoner up a bit. "Okay, thanks." Snap still sounded so disappointed, but he understood there was nothing that could be done. Besides, it was just a meal. Not the end of the world or anything. "Well I'm still hungry. Hmm..."

Wanting to help her friend a little, partially out of payment for his kindness and help when she was starting out, Sandra twisted her neck so she could look up at her LED menu. She scratched her chin thoughtfully as she looked through the items, trying to find something Snap might like.

Upon seeing something, she looked back at him and said, "What about the spinach pie with three cheese? No one's ordered that yet, so you'd be my first customer for that item."

"Spinach pie?" Snap tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly.

"If you don't want it, I can always find something else." Sandra offered, raising up a hand in gesture.

"Okay, I'll give it a try!" Snap said with a smile. "But could you give me a bag to go with it? Rudy, Penny, and Mint are expecting me soon." Sandra recognized the name of Mint. If she remembered right, he was a formerly evil creator who worked for Skrawl. He had changed his ways and become an ally for Rudy and Penny. Snap usually talked fondly of him. He was also... "I can't eat here long, so can you do that for me?"

"Sure, no problem, Snap!" Sandra said, grinning at the blue zoner. She wasn't bothered by him interrupting her thoughts. "Just sit tight now. I'll be right back." With that, Sandra disappeared into her kitchen, preparing the pie for her friend.

sss

Rudy narrowed his eyes in determination. He held up his magic chalk, fully prepared to draw whatever he needed. He hadn't expected to get into some action this fast, but then, his enemies didn't exactly give a time frame of when they would attack, because why would they?

Along with Mint, Penny, and Snap, he rushed forward through ChalkZone City. The four of them had to be careful not to run into anyone. Many zoners were running away from something, screaming, waving their hands in the air. He usually didn't see the zoners this frightened before, and the sight of it filled him with anger. He was going to get to the bottom of this and stop whatever was going on.

Snap had just gotten out of Sandra's Alcove when he had spotted the zoners in a part of the city beginning to run away n a panic. It wasn't too far away from the restaurant, so he had spotted it as soon as he stepped out. The little zoner had found him and the others not long after, informing him of the threat. Unfortunately, he did not know the identity of the attacker.

Rudy felt a bit nervous with rushing into something without knowing what was going on. But he would figure out soon enough. It wouldn't take them long to find the culprit. They just had to keep running in the opposite direction of these zoners. The four of them took note of the directions they had come from, and used that to determine the direction they themselves should go. The more panicked the zoners looked, the closer they were getting to the source.

Rudy looked over at Mint. He was disappointed that Mint could not bring Ripclaw with him. The poor dinosaur had gotten herself injured and her leg was broken. She needed to stay at a vet while she recooperates. The other dinosaurs had found a new home in a zoo, and it wasn't like the owners were going to willingly let them borrow the dinos. They were pretty strict with that. But that probably won't be a problem; Mint could always draw a dinosaur if he felt they could use one.

He still couldn't believe it had been two years since Mint joined up with them. Oh how time flies. It felt like it was just yesterday the kid first appeared and they had to tangle with him. The kid, now a first year teenager, had been a great asset afterwards, and everyone adapted well to his presence. He had become a close friend of theirs and he had kept true to his word and never tried to harm anyone again. Although at times, he would feel some anger as he remembered when Mint broke his friend's back, or guilt when he saw Mint's prosthetic leg, he had much better control over these emotions. He had no regrets with letting Mint stay.

He moved his thoughts away from that, focusing at the task at hand. Up ahead, he could see some smoke pillowing out into the ground. He couldn't see just what was causing it, but he knew it wouldn't be long. He could see some kind of shadow stretching along the ground. Then he felt vibrations in the ground. This caused him and his friends to stop, their feet detecting the vibrations spreading through the ground. Something was coming. Something big.

Rudy stopped in the middle of the road. On his left and right, he could see various zoners screamin, clamoring to get away, some shovering each other to gain more distance. Penny and Mint followed his example, taking position on either side of him as they prepared to face their adversary. Snap stood not far from Mint, his eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists. The four friends stood there, waiting for the enemy to show up.

Soon, he did. With a loud crash, rocks breaking, and smoke clearing into the area, they could see something mechanical coming into view.

Four legs, sharp edges with a pointed tip, moved towards them. They could hear the gears squeaking, wires stretching. There was no doubt in Rudy's head this was a robotic zoner of some kind. His first thought was Craniac 4, but that zoner did nto look like this, and Rudy didn't recall him having any kind of mechanical creature like this. It took Rudy a while to realize that this creature was a mount, not acting on its own. He could see a large, somewhat rounded figure jetting out unnaturally from the back, and a few things were floating around him.

Rudy's eyes narrowed, his teeth clenching. Recognizing already who this intruder was, he raised his chalk higher, the tip sparkling. The twelve year old would not allow his enemy to get away with what he did. This time, things were going to end a little differently.

"Well well well...look what the cat dragged in.." A cold, familiar voice called out. The voice put the four friends on edge, their minds swimming with thoughts of what happened three years ago. "I suppose I should be grateful that you came. It would have been a great insult if you didn't show up your own creation's correnation..."

Rudy gnashed his teeth together. "I didn't draw you, Skrawl! A bunch of other kids did!" He shook his head, realizing that isn't what he should be talking about. "And what are you up to this time?!"

"How nice of you to ask, Master Tabootie." Skrawl grinned nastily as he stopped his machine. "Perhaps I should let you say hello to Margaret."

The kids looked at him, puzzled. They looked all around, not seeing anything. What was this crazed zoner talking about?

At this, Skrawl growled in frustration, slapping himself in the face. "Are you serious?! Are you four really that dense?" He looked like he wanted to scream when the kids simply shrugged their shoulders. He gritted his teeth, but soon regained his composure. He pointed at the machine he was riding. "This is Margaret. I got her from the Future Dome. Isn't she..perfect?"

The machine, or Margaret as Skrawl insisted on calling it..or her, looked like a mechanical spider-like thing, kind of. It had a singular body with a single seat, which Skrawl himself was sitting in. It was a bit further back, and at the front, there were large pincers, looking sharp enough to tear through anything. There were only four legs, but they were clearly spider-like. The tips looked like they would be strong enough to help the evil zoner climb up almost any surface. There were a multitude of lights decorating the silver-colored machine, and in the back, there was a lightbulb shaped protrusion. They guessed that it shot something out of its rear end to help aid in fighting, most likely a sticky substance, such as webbing. The eyes, large, segmented, and shining with gold, stared at them, piercing through their minds.

Margaret, upon a few slaps from Skrawl, took a few menacing steps towards the group. She let out a series of synthesized hisses and growls. Her jaws snapped together, the clanging sound filling the air. Her pupilless eyes stared straight at them as she raised her two front legs into the air. She slammed back down, as if displaying her incredible strength to them. As her pointed tips of feet hit the ground, there was a crack, and the feet went in partially. This was enough to make the group flinch slightly, but still, they stood their ground.

"Perhaps it's time for you four to say your prayers." Skrawl said with a gleeful smile. He raised up a device which Rudy guessed controlled the creautre directly. If he could just get it away from him somehow... "Craniac 4 says this thing is calibrated to..."

"Oh so Craniac 4 is on this? Where is he?" Mint spoke up, cutting off Skrawl. Even when the jellybean glared at him, Mint still smirked. "Did he turn chicken and run away? Oh wait, I know what happened." He folded his arms against his chest. "He was turned off by your brilliant plan, so he decided to leave before he ended up in another of your failures." Skrawl's mismatched eyes widened at this. "Oh, did I speak too soon?"

"Mint..." Penny said in a warning tone. "Please be careful of what you say..."

Rudy nodded in agreement. Although Mint was usually a good ally, he still had something of an attitude problem that needed more adjusting. He was the most likely of them to pick a fight, and he sometimes nearly ruined things for them. This could be another of those incidents. If he accidentally angered Skrawl, they could be plunged into a situation more dangerous than they already were in. An angered zoner was an unpredictable zoner.

"What?" Mint asked, raising his hands into the air. "I was just playing with him." He loked back at Skrawl. "But in all seriousness, are you sure Craniac 4 didn't get tired of working for you and just abandoned the plan?"

Skrawl growled softly. "He was never a part of this."

Mint blinked a few times. He then sighed almsot in sadness. "That's a shame. I was looking forward to seeing him again." He gave a quick chuckle. "Oh well, watching your plans fail again is going to be quite fun."

"Watch it, Mint. Or do you want another fake leg to match your left one?" Skrawl hissed at him.

At this, Mint's bravery faltered. His eyes widened in horror. He glanced down at his left foot, which was half prosthetic, and back at Skrawl. As Mint licked his lips nervously and took a few steps back, Skrawl smiled at this fearful response. In retaliation, the other three moved closer to Mint, showing a silent, clear sign that they weren't going to allow Skrawl another chance to do that.

Rudy's eyes flashed in anger. He couldn't believe Skrawl had the nerve to strike Mint mentally like that, by reminding him of what happened all that time ago. It was still fresh on his mind. Rudy could still see the sword swing down. He could still hear it slice through muscle and bone. He could still see Mint on the ground, nearly bleeding to death. It had been a terrifying experience for him. He never wanted to see Mint or anyone in such a state again. And he knew that Mint would not want to be put back in that situation either. The poor kid was mentally scarred from having seen the sword coming down, his severed leg, and for it to happen again...

Well Skrawl was going to be sadly disappointed. There was no way he or his friends would let that happen. It was tough enough for their friend to recover and adapt, but to have another severed leg... No, not this time.

Skrawl let out a cruel chuckle at their show of determination. He lifted the device higher into the air, pointing it straight at them. "I would love to sit here and listen to you all blabber on and on about how you'd stop me, but I have a time schedule to keep."

"What are you talking about, you oversized rotten fruit?" Snap demanded, pointing a hand in Skrawl's direction.

Skrawl growled at Snap. "Don't you dare talk to your future ruler that way!" He cleared his throat, calming himself down. "Now as I was saying, the sooner I get rid of you four, the sooner Margaret and I can take over ChalkZone!" He gave a mad grin as he prepared to push the button. "So prepare yourselves, you foolish creators..." He paused. "..and blue rodent.." Snap glared at this. "You are all about to..."

The zoner suddenly went silent. The four friends looked at him in confusion. Usually this was when Skrawl would start talking about how he would win, how his plan was so brilliant, it couldn't possibly fail. But now the large zoner went silent, and they hadn't said anything to him to make him do that. Skrawl's eyes were wide, as if he just realized something, Then his expression relaxed and he shook his head.

"You know, we did this song and dance before. So let's just skip the part where I talk about my brilliant plan and get to annihilating you..." With that, the jellybean zoner pressed the button. The machine's eyes glowed brightly and she began to move towards them, her feet moving faster than before.

The four friends stood their ground. Their minds raced as the machine headed towards them. Rudy watched it intently, taking note of its structure, trying to see any weak points. He looked over at his friends, noting they were doing the same. He looked back over. As the thing got closer, he took a few steps back, as did his friends. They watched, unable to tear their eyes way, their minds swirling for a course of action.

He was relieved when Penny ushered them all over so they could quick discuss something. Penny took notice of a weird structure on the creature's legs that looked almost like antennas. She deduced that the power source for the creature was located somewhere else. This power source likely was not catered to the beast itself; Skrawl was likely using a machine somewhere nearby to power the creature. If they find it and disable it, they would be able to stop Skrawl.

The plan was pretty simple, yet effective. Penny suggested that Mint and Rudy should distract Skrawl while she went to turn off the machine. Snap's job would be to keep the Beanie Boys busy. As long as they forced Skrawl one on one, he couldn't take them by surprise.

With how little time there was, they didn't bother debating with each other of any better ideas. As the machine came closer, it was time to put it into effect.

Snap was the first one to act. Rushing towards Skrawl, the zoner began to brazingly insult the jellybean. "You're going to be our new leader? I feel bad for everyone who has to follow someone whose plans always break down in his hands like they were made of glass! This world would sure become a worse place."

"You little..." Skrawl growled.

Snap grinned at the jellybean. "What? I'm just telling the truth!" He folded his arms against his chest as he looked up at the Beanie Boys, who looked a bit surprised at how he had insulted their master. "I take it these guys will be your enforcers? Oh puh shaw!" Snap waved his hand to the side in a dismissive manner. "These guys are hardly intimidating. If you seriously try to rule while associating with these guys, no one is going to take you seriously. Oh wait, you're already identified with them, so everyone is going to know you as Skrawl The Fool!"

Predictably, Skrawl pointed a finger at the zoner. "Get him, Beanie Boys!"

Rudy resisted the urge to smile. Typical Skrawl. All that needed to be done was the right words be spoken, and he would get so infuriated, he wouldn't realize he was falling into a trap. He watched as his friend ran down ChalkZone City's streets, the three Beanie Boys accompanying Skrawl going after him.

Now that Skrawl was alone, with the exception of the arachnid-like robot, it was time for him, Mint, and Penny to go forward with their plans. He looked over at Mint, his eyes narrowed in determination. The older boy gave a nod in return, and the two boys began to move forward. They pulled out their magic chalk, prepared to take on Skrawl until Penny could find the power source.

As Penny turn and started to make her getaway, Mint and Rudy rushed towards Skrawl. The jellybean gritted his teeth, glaring at the two creators approaching him. They ran on opposite sides, one on his left, and the other on his right. The two of them prepared to draw, but they didn't get too far as Skrawl had his machine raise her leg up and strike at them with a wide swipe. The two boys jumped back, narrowly missing the sharp tips slashing into them. They didn't back away too far, and, with glares on their faces, rushed forward again.

Skrawl glared at the two boys, and with a strong slap on his beast's head, he began to charge them. Rudy glared at this unnecessary act of cruelty, but he said nothing, knowing Skrawl would not pay attention to what he said regarding the issue. He quickly draw a long piece of rope and gave a nod to Mint. The boy took the hint quickly and he mimicked Rudy's movements, producing another long rope. The two friends then rushed towards the machine.

Skrawl grinned at them. The jellybean zoner must think they were crazy to approach. Well wasn't he in for a surprise. He quickly draw heavy weights on the tips of the rope he drew, as did Mint, and he quickly drew up a large gun. He stuffed the rope in, and shot it out, a puff of smoke emitting from the barrel. The rope shot through the air. Skrawl's eyes widened as the rope landed on top of his robot, in the front precisely. Margaret already faltered with just one rope on her back, her body swaying from side to side. It got worse when Mint fired the second rope, creating a large X that weighed down on the machine.

The two friends nodded to each other, smiling. Confident that they had disabled Skrawl's machine long enough to get him away from the controls, they turned their sights on the jellybean. But unfortunately, they didn't get very far.

Suddenly, one of Margaret's legs ripped straight up, the sharp edge of her joint slicing through the rope. The two boys paused and took a few steps back, eyes widening as they stared at the beast. At their surprise, Skrawl laughed maniacally, his hands raised in the air as if for dramatic effect. Rudy and Mint glanced nervously at each other. It would seem they would need a better plan at getting Skrawl out of that machine.

"Nice try, human vermin!" Skrawl said. "I would have thought you two would come up with a better plan than that. I'm almost disappointed..."

"Like we would give up..." Rudy said, narrowing his eyes at the jellybean. "You know that we will never let you win!"

"Yeah! We'll send you packing like we had before!" Mint agreed.

"Oh is that so?" Skrawl inquired, tilting his head to the side. His eyes shifted around. Then they glinted slightly. It looked as if Skrawl had seen something, and his movements became more deliberate. But Rudy was so determined to stop Skrawl, he didn't realize just what Skrawl might have seen. "Well then..maybe today well be...my lucky day!"

Without warning, Margaret opened up her jaws. There was a wide, oval opening that appeared, and something shot out of her mouth. Letting out a shocked scream, Mint and Rudy jumped to the sides as something glowy and stretched out shot out between them. Mint sneered at Skrawl, but before he could make a comment about how he had missed, they heard a scream behind them. His heart skipping a beat, Rudy realized they weren't the true targets.

The two boys looked over their shoulders, then with a gasp of horror, turned around completely to face what had happened. Penny, who had gained some distance away as she started to search for the device, was tangled up with a glowy, sticky mess that Margaret shot at her. The girl's arms were pinned at her sides and her legs trapped together. She squirmed as hard as she could, but she could not break free.

Rudy and Mint cried out Penny's name as the twelve year old female creator was dragged towards Skrawl. The jellybean laughed evilly as Penny was quickly placed underneath Margaret, a sharp leg tip placed close to her neck. Penny glared up at Skrawl, clearly frightened, but determined to still try to get away.

"Why hello, genius girl! Fancy to see you here." Skrawl said. "It seems you got yourself into a...sticky situation."

"Up yours, Skrawl." Penny retorted.

Skrawl's mouth dropped open in shock at this. Rudy and Mint shared a quick, humored chuckle at how stunned Skrawl was by what Penny said. It was not like her to say stuff like that often. But the humor disappeared quickly as Skrawl glared at her.

"It seems my former Chalk Queen needs a little lesson about respect." Skrawl pressed a few buttons on his controller, and the robotic creature proceded to lift up her foot, positioning it over Penny's head. This made Mint and Rudy gasp in horror. "If I were you, sweet little girl, I'd apologize..."

Despite her fear, Penny still showed defiance. "No."

"Then so be it..." Skrawl said, and he reached down to press the button.

Without warning, something slammed into Skrawl. This did not surprise Rudy. He had seen Mint sneak around while Skrawl was busy looking at Penny. The thirteen year old had gotten into position and as soon as he saw an opportunity, he rushed forward. The boy managed to climb up Margaret without detection, and in seconds, he wrestled Skrawl out of her. The two slammed into the ground, Mint on top of Skrawl.

Despite the fact that Skrawl wasn't directly controlling her anymore, Margaret remained in her position. Rudy couldn't tell if it was out of fear, obedience, or perhaps she was not able to act on her own without a controller. He rushed towards Penny, and knelt down beside her. He looked over once, watching as Mint tried to keep Skrawl away from his remote control, which had dropped off to the side, and he turned his eyes back to Penny. He immediately went to work helping her out.

It wasn't too difficult. Margaret didn't make a move to stop him as he grabbed her sharp tipped leg and pulled it up to make room. He then grabbed his female friend and began to drag her away from Margaret. As soon as he got her a certain distance away, he immediately drew a pair of scissors and began to cut his friend out of the substance.

It didn't take him long to cut all the way through. Penny immediately climbed up to her feet, brushing herself off. Her face was contorted in disgust as she cleaned off the last bits of the sticky material from her body.

"That was so gross..." She shuddered.

"Hey, Skrawl!"

At this, Penny and Rudy looked over. They could see Mint was still with Skrawl. At this point, the jellybean had gotten up to his feet. His eyes were focused on Mint, who was at his side, his hands gripping the zoner's arm tightly.

"Remember this?" Mint grinned mischieviously. Without hesitation, Mint opened his jaws wide and snapped them down on the zoner's arm.

Skrawl's eyes widened and he let out a scream. He tried to yank his arm away, but Mint did not let go. He held on tightly, his teeth pressing further against the zoner's skin. Then, his eyes narrowed in rage, Skrawl pulled his arm back as hard as he could, yanking Mint forward in the process. Even as Mint saw, with wide eyes, the claws coming down at him, he still didn't let go of Skrawl's arm. He continued biting him up until the point that the claws hit their mark.

"Mint!" Rudy and Penny cried out in unison.

Mint rolled across the ground, a few long, though shallow, gashes running along his arm. He clutched his limb to himself and then stared up at Skrawl. Rudy was glad that it was his right arm, and not his left, that was damaged. But that may not last as Skrawl moved closer to the boy. He nodded towards Penny and the two began to make their way towards the enraged zoner.

Mint laid on the ground, crawling backwards on his hands. His teeth were clenched in pain, but he seemed to try to ignore that as he did his best to get away from the angered jellybean. But Skrawl was faster and soon he placed his foot on Mint's stomach, holding him down.

"You still haven't learned, have you, traitor?" Skrawl's voice was low, menacing. He narrowed his eyes, giving a chillingly familiar look that brought Rudy and Mint back to that moment, when Skrawl had chopped off his foot in a fit of rage. With an insane grin, he raised his hand up higher, the sharp tips pointing down at Mint. "Well perhaps it's time I gave you another...permanent reminder of why I'm in charge!"

Mint began to struggle frantically under Skrawl. The zoner grabbed his throat and held him down. Mint clawed at his arm, but that did nothing to make Skrawl loosen his grip. "No, please!"

Skrawl just grinned nastily, and tensed up his arm muscles, preparing to strike down.

"Leave him alone!" Rudy cried as he and Penny rushed over to help Mint.

sss

Snap panted heavily, his heart racing against his chest. He put his hand against it and flinched. He half wondered if his heart was going to jump out of his chest any second, spilling out onto the ground. He tried to cast aside the horrific imagery as he moved through the corridor.

He had no idea where he was. He had been running away from the Beanie Boys, going every which way to make sure they couldn't catch him. But he also kept himself in sight so that they would be compelled to keep following him. He had to buy his friends enough time to take care of that creepazoid, Skrawl.

He did eventually lose them when he went down a long corridor and then fell through the ground, the ground in that particular spot much weaker than it looked. He landed in some kind of dusty pile. He coughed as the stuff got into his windpipe. As he desperately cleared his throat, he could hear the familiar chanting of the Beanie Boys as they flew overhead. They apparently didn't see him fall down. Though a bit disappointed he could not lead them more astray, Snap was glad that he was able to get them this far. That should buy his friends enough time.

He wished he could get back to them, though. He couldn't climb back out of the hole he came from, and he had no flashlight. He was not able to see much of where he was. There was a strong stench here, dank, and it felt a little moist, or maybe it was just metal. He couldn't tell which it was, and at the moment, he didn't care. He just continued moving through the dark, unknown location, hoping to find a way out.

Slowly, his vision began to improve. He started to see simple shapes and shadows, giving some form of where he was. He realized he was in a network of underground tunnels. At this realization, Snap immediately shuddered in disgust. He was probably in the sewer, of all places. The thought sent chills up his spine. He was going to need to take a nice, long shower when he got out of here.

He picked what appeared to be the cleanest corridor and headed down it. He had been going down this tunnel for some time now. He moved swiftly, and yet at the same time cautiously, knowing he had no idea what was up ahead. With so little light, he could barely see where he was going. He nearly dripped a few times because of htis. He did manage to keep his balance, but that was of little comfot since he knew his next step could be a deep hole that he'd fall into, or he could end up crushing his face against a concrete wall or something.

And that is exactly what happened. He ended up walking straight into a hard surface. His face wasn't as injured as he thought it was going to be, but the impact of the surface against his face was not pleasant. He held onto his head, rubbing it gently as he used his other to figure out what he stumbled upon. Feeling around it, noting what felt like a marble structure, and then a doorknob, he realized that he had run into a door.

Curious about where this led to, Snap grabbed it and turned it. It was a little hard opening it. The hinges were pretty stiff, and he wondered if this door had even been used at all lately. When he managed to open it all the way, he struggled to get in, and in seconds, the door slammed behind him. He winced, startled. Yeah, the door was old alright. It didn't want to stay open.

Snap found himself in another corridor, but thankfully, this one was lit. He immediately moved forward, hoping to find his way out soon. As soon as he would get outside, he'd be able to tell about where he was in ChalkZone and he'd be able to find Rudy.

As he continued walking, he thought back to his friends. He hoped they were holding out well. He didn't know how far they had gotten with Skrawl before he lost the Beanie Boys. He could only hope that the Beanie Boys don't return in time to assist Skrawl. Otherwise, they might be in trouble. All the more reason to find a way out of here and go back and help them.

Up ahead, Snap could see another door. This one seemed to be made out of the same material. Marble, which was a bit unusual. He didn't really see marble doors around ChalkZone that much. He shrugged it off and walked towards it. Upon opening it, it brought him into a much larger room. Snap's eyes widened as he slowly walked in. The feeling of crampiness suddenly gave out to wide and open as he found himself in what appeared to be a large warehouse.

The place looked pretty old, but not too bad. It was apparent someone had been keeping it mostly clean. They did a good job. With the acception of some dust and a few cobwebs in sparse locations, the place looked well kept. He could see row after row of metal shelves, unlabeled boxes adorning them. He couldn't tell just what this warehouse was for, but he would worry about that later.

The zoner began to look for a way out. He thought it was going to be easy, but he soon realized it was going to be a bit more challenging than he thought. This place was larger than he realized, a lot more spacious than he thought it was. He had no idea how long it was going to take him to get out of here. But he knew the quickest way to find it: walk along the stretch of the walls.

As he did this, he kept his eyes on the rows, looking between them. He tried to see if he could notice any sign of what direction he should go in. Maybe he could find some kind of clue, like an exit sign or something.

He did eventually find something, but it wasn't what he had been looking for.

Sitting up against one of the empty shelves, in roughly the middle of the warehouse, was some kind of...weird contraption. Despite wanting to continue finding the exit, Snap was drawn to the machine. There was something...almost compelling about it. He walked towards it slowly, his white eyes focusing intently on it. It didn't take him too long to reach it, and he stopped a few feet in front of it. He looked up and down, taking note of its details.

It was hard to describe the device. The closest Snap could think of was a large juicer. There was a wide, cylinder-rectangle thing that looked like just about any small zoner could fight through. It terminated into a large, metal box thing, with several grooves and multiple wires all over, stretching along the ground. There looked to be a spear-like structure jetting out at the side, and it was glowing slightly. Despite the glow, it didn't seem to be ominous, and Snap was even able to safely touch it. Looking back at the machine, he noticed something moving slowly where the cylinder-like thing connected with the metal box thing. And right in front were some diods and buttons. The last thing Snap noticed was a sliver opening in front. It was much narrower than the top, and was rimmed with a thick, rubber edge.

Snap was perplexed by this device. It looked appealing, with its design, but at the same time, not knowing what it was kind of unnerved him. He didn't know what this machine was for, and why it was here. It seemed to be operational, yet the function was a mystery. It couldn't be a juicer; he smelled no fruit on it. Despite its appearance, it probably didn't have anything to do with food. There was probably some other function it had, something he wasn't thinking about.

Despite his desire to find out more, Snap knew he couldn't waste time on this machine. He had to find a way out of here. He stepped to the side of the machine and looked up, trying to see if he could locate a sign that he may have missed during his walk. Looking up, craning his head as far as he could go, he thought he could see a glimpse of something. He jumped up, but no matter how high he launched himself into the air, it wasn't enough to see the item in question. Having no choice, he began to climb up the shelf behind the mystery machine.

Slowly, Snap made his way up the shelf. He was careful with his footing, making sure he didn't slip and twist his ankle or break his leg in the process. He made progress, slow and steady. He gritted his teeth in determination, making to climb up about three shelves. He pulled himself onto the shelf, his round hands clawing for a grip as he tried to see what he thought was a sign. But it turned out to just be a colored box. Snap sighed in disappointment.

Suddenly, he felt himself moving backwards. His eyes bulged and he tightened his grip on the shelf. He turned his head, and out of the corner of one eye, he could see that he, along with the shelf he was on, was falling down towards the machine. Thoughts of how weak the shelves must be for him to weigh it down like this barely registered in his mind. Snap's mind raced as he reacted as quickly as he could. He let go of the shelf, crashing into the ground. He rubbed his head and then looked up. Seeing the structure coming down towards him, he rolled out of the way.

As soon as he did, there was a loud crash. Snap held his hands to his head, curling up into a somewhat fetal position as the crack ehoed in his ear. He heard loud screeching as metallic parts were stretched and crushed. Dust had been kicked out from underneath, forcing him into another coughing fit. After a few seconds, the sounds stopped, and he looked over to see what had happened.

The shelf he had been on toppled over and landed right on the machine. One of the shelves pressed against the machine, cutting into it almost like a knife through butter. One of the support bars for the shelf also smashed against it, crushing the front portion and Snap could see that not only did the antenna not glow anymore, but there was smoke pillowing out of the machine, along with some sparks of electricity. As the sparking increased, as he started to see darker smoke coming out, Snap realized what was about to happen.

Climbing up to his feet, Snap made a dash away from the machine, his eyes wide in horror. Seconds later, as he managed to get down several aisles, the machine exploded.

sss

What a day... Sandra did not expect to get that many customers, even without her special of the day. Business was booming. She wondered if Snap had anything to do with it. He was probably telling some zoners all about her restaurant. At this, she couldn't help but smile. She'd have to thank him later if that were the case.

She had locked up for the day. She usually didn't shut down this early, but despite her success, she didn't feel comfortable staying open that long without a special available. She would have to take care to get enough meat later on so that she could serve a lot more meat rolls to her hungry customers. Some zoners were disappointed that she had already locked up, but she promised them that she would be open again tomorrow.

After she sweeped up the place, wiped down the counters, and locked up the cash register, the dragon zoner made her way towards the back. She walked passed the kitchen and her personal bathroom and moved through the long corridor. It bent at some sharp angles, forcing her to turn suddenly. Despite this, it wasn't too bad to navigate and she kind of liked it, as it sort of reminded her of tunnels in a cave, her favorite type of land structure.

She wondered what her next specialty was going to be. She couldn't just keep making meat rolls. She would have to think of something else. She usually tried to have something new every few days at least. It was how she kept attracting more customers. Always something new. Maybe Snap would have some ideas for her, or those humans. Even if the humans couldn't eat chalk food, she reckoned Real World food was similiar. She could whip up a chalk version of whatever they came up with.

She reached the door and turned the knob. It creaked open and she felt a rush of air move through her as she stepped into her own personal warehouse. She took in a deep breath, detecting the smells of the building. Familiar smells that reminded her of her successes of the restaurant. But before she could continue working on the next specials, she first had to check up on something important.

She walked between two of the shelves. She looked up, noting the boxes all around. She gave a small smile. They certainly came in handy. She might need more eventually. With her hobby, there was always room for more boxes, more storage. Perhaps she could get Rudy to draw her more. She could always use some.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she saw what was in front of her. She could see one of the shelves had been knocked down, but while that was enough of a shock, something else horrified her more.

Smoke...

She could smell smoke...

And was that burn marks...?

Breathing in and out quickly, Sandra rushed forward, her short cape-like thing flapping behind her, her back parallel to the ground as she approached the scene. As soon as she reached it, she went back into her tripod stance and looked around. Her eyes widened in horror at what laid before her.

It was...it was her machine. It was completely destroyed. One of the shelves fell onto it, slicing into the machine and rendering it useless. With the bits that laid all over the place, spread out all around, Sandra could tell that the machine had exploded. Luckily, it didn't seem to have started a fire or anything. But the machine itself was charred, distorted and dented, and some areas broke off and laid on the ground all around. It looked so brittle, like at any point, it would crumble into dust.

Seeing her machine in this condition caused Sandra's body to shake. A wave of emotion rushed through her body. She..she couldn't believe it. What happened here? The shelves may not be the strongest around, but they wouldn't just topple over that easily. There was no strong rush of wind through here, and as she looked at the shelf's metal support for weaknesses, she found none.

Then, as she moved around the destroyed machine tenatively, she noticed some kind of scent. She paused, and pointed her muzzle in the air. Her nostrils flared as she tried to detect the smell. She realized there was some kind of extra scent in here. It was familiar and yet it was so badly distorted by the smoke that she could not recognize it. But it was all the evidence she needed for her to realize something happened.

Someone had sabotaged her machine.

This caused her blood to boil. Someone had invaded her property and destroyed her machine. They dared to invade..dared to destroy what was hers... Her red eyes narrowed dangerously, her sharp teeth bared viciously.

She didn't care what it took. She didn't care how long it was going to take. She vowed right then and there, she was going to find who was responsible for this. She would find them and she would make them pay for what they had done.


	2. Promise

I know the truth now. I know who you are. And I don't love you anymore!

-Everybody's Fool, Evanescence

sss

Rudy, Penny, and Mint all glared in the direction Skrawl was being dragged off to. They had managed to hold him off long enough for the police to arrive onto the scene. A couple large zoners grabbed the jellybean and started to drag him away.

"You haven't seen the last of me!" Skrawl wailed. He jerked himself from side to side a few times. He cast a glance over at the human children, gnashing his crooked teeth together. "Do you hear me?! I'll be back!"

"Shut it." One of the cops said.

"Don't you dare tell me what to..." Skrawl never got a chance to finish. He was shoved into the police car and the door slammed, muffling his cursing. The cops then climbed into the car and began to drive Skrawl away.

As Penny watched this, her eyes narrowed, she knew that Skrawl was right. He had been successfully captured one time before, about a year ago, and he was able to get away. She had no doubts in her head that he would get away from this. All this did was delay him. He would be back, but they would be prepared for it. He could not take them by surprise anymore.

She would love for a more permanent solution to be set. Perhaps sending him to a more high security prison. It was terrifying to her that Skrawl could escape from what they were told to be tough jails. But surely there had to be some place where he couldn't escape form, right? Boorat, who was physically stronger than Skrawl, still hadn't escaped his prison. Maybe that's where he needed to be sent?

But where Skrawl went was none of their business, so they were told. Despite being guardians of ChalkZone, she, Rudy, and Mint had no authority of where a captured criminal was taken. She recalled Rudy tried something one time, and it had failed miserably.

As uncomfortable as this felt to her, it wasn't like they really needed to appeal anything or persuade the jailers or whatever. She was glad for that. She couldn't imagine what might happen if they had to try to help a falsely accused zoner who had been locked up. If the jailers won't listen to them, it was going to involve a lot of hard work gathering evidence, and even then, some of the jailers may not want to listen to outsiders like themselves.

She pushed the thoughts aside. She shouldn't worry about that right now. A more pressing matter on her mind was Snap. Why wasn't he back yet?

Penny looked off in the direction he ran in. She had only seen a glimpse of it, but she did bear witness to the Beanie Boys chasing her friend down in hot pursuit. With their flying ability, they likely caught up to the zoner very quickly. She hoped that Snap was able to find a hiding place in time.

The longer he was gone, the more worried she got. Perhaps it was time to begin searching for him. The police were done here. There was no need for them to remain. Perhaps they should...

"Penny?" Rudy's voice rang out, ripping her from her thoughts. Penny shook her head and looked over at Rudy. "What's wrong?" The boy gave her a worried expression. "You were kind of spacing out."

"I'm worried about Snap. He isn't back yet." Penny said.

Mint shrugged his shoulders. "It hadn't been that long. I'm sure he's fine."

"Mint's right." Rudy said, doing his best to sound calm and reassuring to Penny. "Just give him a little more time."

Penny wanted to feel comforted by these words. It was true it wasn't terribly long. Yet...still, half an hour..forty-five minutes, that's still quite a bit of time for Snap to be away. She couldn't help but fear that something unexpected had ocurred while Snap was leading them away. There was a number of possibilities that could have ocurred. These images played in her head, flashing in the back of her mind.

What if the Beanie Boys caught him?

What if they hurt him?

What if he was trapped?

What if he got lost?

Penny tried to shake these thoughts out of her head. She was overreacting, she knew. Snap was a capable zoner, and he had been gone longer than this. It wasn't like her to worry to this degree about whether or not Snap was coming back. She began to wonder if she was starting to lose confidence in her friend. The idea was ludicrous. She would never...

Then again, Snap had relatively recently recovered from a spine injury. Mint's attack on Snap had cracked the vertebrate and now the zoner possesses a prosthetic bone to replace an old one. It was strong, but still a weak spot. The Beanie Boys would know about this. If they hit Snap in just the right spot, they might be able to do enough damage to cripple her friend. Without his legs, Snap wouldn't be able to go far.

She soon realized one thing. She wouldn't be able to stop worrying about Snap until he got back safe and sound. Only then would she feel reassured. A part of her felt ashamed, feeling as thought she really was losing confidence in her friend.

"It's okay to be worried, Penny." Rudy said. Penny looked over at him, leveling her eyes with his. "He's our friend. It's normal to worry."

Penny looked away. "But...I'm fearing the worst, even though he hadn't been gone that long, like Mint said. You...you don't think I'm.." She looked over at her friends, giving them a silent question through a worried expression stretching along her face.

Mint and Rudy looked at each other, and then back at her sympathetically.

Mint shook his head. "I don't think you're losing confidence in him. If anything, I think you're just caring about him even more." He rubbed the side of his head. "Which is quite amazing, considering you already had a close friendship with him back when I..." His voice trailed off. Rudy and Penny nodded their heads in understanding.

"Yeah, it's nothing to be ashamed of, Penny. Being worried does not mean you don't think Snap is capable." Rudy smiled for a bit, trying to reassure Penny. Then he tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why would you even think that? I thought that you..."

"I'm not sure, Rudy." Penny admitted, lowering her head. "I don't know..."

All remained silent. Penny kept her head low. She could feel her friends looking at her, wondering what was wrong with her. She wished she could answer. She knew she was being ridiculous and paranoid, and she normally wasn't like this. It was almost like...

...like something in the air was causing it...

But if that was the case, why only her? Why weren't Mint and Rudy affected? And if it was something doing it...then what was it? And where was it?

"Hey guys!"

Penny felt her heart flutter with happiness as she heard the familiar shout of her friend. Her previous worry disappeared completely as she watched her friend rush towards them. She, Rudy, and Mint moved towards the zoner to greet him.

"Snap! You're..." Penny paused, her eyes widening. Mint and Rudy had taken notice as well.

"Snap, what happened?" Rudy asked, his voice a whisper.

Snap didn't look unscatched. He had a couple small tears in his costume and he had some dirt on him. But that wasn't what alarmed the three the most. That wasn't what Snap was so startled about. Parts of his limbs had burn marks on them. Dark, sooty in color. It was possible they were in other areas as well. Even though the burn marks didn't look serious, that didn't mean they were anything to sneeze at.

The burns did seem to have an effect on their friend. The zoner's teeth were clenched, his eye twitching in pain. He looked like he wanted to collapse on the ground and fall asleep. They weren't sure if it was from the pain or from whatever had happened. They felt their hearts twist as they looked at their friend sympathetically. What could have caused this? Did the Beanie Boys do this? It seemed out of their nature, but then, they did create that conconction that would have destroyed Snap had it not been for Rudy drawing the milk...

Snap jumped up and down a few times, waving his hands in the air. "G-Giant j-juicer!" The three of them stared in shock. Snap winced in pain as the three friends waited for him to continue. "D-Destroyed...explosion...!"

Mint took in a sharp gasp at this. "You were caught in an explosion?!"

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah I..." Snap stopped as he looked over at Mint. "What...What happened to you..?" He looked intently at Mint's minor injuries.

Mint looked himself over and then said, "Don't worry about me! What about you?"

Rudy looked over at Penny. "How bad do you think he is?"

Penny walked towards Snap. She made a gesture, letting him know to hold still. She gently grabbed onto him, examining his arms and legs, looking at the burns on them. Upon closer inspection, she realized they merely looked worse from afar. Up close, she could tell that these burns weren't anything too serious. Much of the blackness was just from soot that must have clung to Snap's body as he got away from..whatever had happened. His back looked a little worse, but was not too worse for wear. Whatever explosion Snap had been running from, he had only gotten grazed by it.

But that didn't mean Snap didn't require treatment. Penny believed that Snap should have at least some water-soaked rags put against his damaged skin once in a while to help the burns heal faster.

It also did little to settle her fears. The fact that there was an explosion frightened her, and glancing over, she could see looks of fear from both Mint and Rudy. None of them heard this explosion, and that alone was enough to confuse and terrify her. Just where was Snap that this happened? How come no other zoners were running around, panicked due to being hurt? Why was Snap the only one to come to them like this? Something was not right.

Penny soon realized that Mint and Rudy were still waiting for her answer. "Snap will be okay. Just minor injuries. That's all."

"That's a relief." Rudy said with a smile.

Mint took a step forward. "Just what happened anyway?"

"Yeah, Snap. Can you give us the full story?" Penny said as she drew some first aid items to help treat the minor burns on her friend's body. "We need to make sure this won't happen again, not to you or anyone else."

Snap shivered, clearly still startled by what happened. He was able to calm himself by taking in a deep breath. He nodded his head to his friends. They all listened intently as Snap began his story.

"The Beanie Boys chased me down this alleyway and I fell through the ground and..."

sss

"Hooray for Snap!"

"Thank you, Snap!"

"Snap, you're the best!"

Snap couldn't help but smile as he waved to the small crowd of zoners that gathered around him. He looked left and right, greeted by a bunch of happy, relieved faces. They were all cheering and whistling at him. And behind him, his human friends were looking on, smiling broadly as they witnessed this display.

The small blue zoner hadn't really expected to have so many zoners thanking him at once. When he came away from that explosion yesterday, he was expecting the zoners to pay more attention to that. After all, any one of them could have been hurt. But when he came in today, he and his friends got something different than what they thought.

Some zoners greeted him and began to thank him. Some others asked him if it was scary, and still others asked if he stopped the culprit. He, Rudy, Penny, and Mint were all confused, unsure of what the zoners were talking about. That was when a patrolling officer came to them and explained the situation.

It turned out that the device Snap caused to explode was causing some problems. They were certain this was the device responsible because it wasn't until it was destroyed did the events stop. The officer took his time explaining, telling them about how some electrical stuff, like parts of the local hospital and some security stuff, went haywire. Luckily, no one had been found snooping in the hospital or any other guarded area. But it was still strange. When asked why someone would build something like that, yet not act when they had the chance, the police had no answers.

Snap wasn't too worried. Rudy and Penny offered to look for clues while Mint would look around and make sure that another of these devices wasn't in the works. Snap would also help however he could. Between the four of them, he knew they would figure out what happened and locate the zoner responsible.

Despite his confidence, however, he was worried himself. When he realized that none of the other zoners were aware of the explosion, he realized it must be underground. He had been so busy running away, he didn't realize this. The idea of an underground warehouse was a bit disturbing. Why would someone need to hide a warehouse? Just what was in those boxes that would warrant them to be hidden?

And it being underground meant it could be anywhere. At least if it were a building on the surface, Rudy could draw a plane and they could fly around. With something underground, they would need a different approach. An x-ray scope might help, but they would still need to know what to look for. There might be other warehouses underground, and plus he may not even recognize it. There was also the fact that the person might have cloaked it, so a device would not pick it up.

However, Snap didn't want to worry the zoners around him. They had been scared enough of this mystery device. For now, he had to act as calm as possible. Panicked zoners could cause a lot more trouble than the device itself.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Snap said, closing his eyes and smiling as he took a bow. "It was nothing really. Always glad to help!"

He flinched a little when he realized he used Rudy's classic terminology. He looked over at Rudy, but Rudy just smiled back. He and the others were clapping their hands, celebrating with the zoners Snap's unexpected victory. Snap smiled back and turned back to the crowd, waving to them and trying his best to answer their questions.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the zoners began to leave. The cops came in and ushered them away. They then spoke to Snap, telling him they would like to talk to him later whenever he was available. They could see he had already done a lot of talking and his throat did start sounding a little dry. Snap agreed to a meeting tomorrow, and that he would answer their questions to the best of his ability. The cops thanked him and left, leaving the four friends alone.

Although Snap enjoyed talking with the grateful zoners, he was glad to have some rest from that. He was parched. He needed a drink, and he needed some rest. He looked over at his friends and he approached them. They smiled at him, and also casted a look of sympathy to him. They weren't going to be making him talk much after that, that's for certain.

Rudy looked down at his cellphone. "We have a couple hours left before we have to go back." He looked over at Snap. "Is there anything you wanted to do?"

"Maybe we could buy you something here to eat as a congratulations?" Penny suggested.

Mint gave her a confused look. "I thought we couldn't use money from the Real World here." He raised up his bandaged arm in a confused gesture. "So how..."

Penny smirked at him. "We can draw the money, remember? Some places here allow that."

"Oh.." Mint slapped himself in the face. "I completely forgot about that!"

Rudy turned to Snap. "Is that what you would like, Snap?"

The zoner thought about this. He rested his chin on his hand, using his other to rub his cheek thoughtfully. He wasn't too hungry at the moment, and food wasn't exactly on his mind. But though going to a restaurant wasn't exactly how he would want to celebrate at the moment, it was still nice of his friends to offer. Even if they couldn't eat, even if he didn't want to eat, it still sounded like a good idea. Sitting down with his friends in a chalk restaurant, chatting, spending time with them. Yeah, he'd like that.

"Sure! I know just the place, too!" Snap grinned.

"What's that?" Penny asked.

"It's a relatively new place in town. It's already gained some popularity. The owner, Sandra, she's a great cook!" Snap spread his arms out, a big grin on her face. "Oh it's just a shame you can't eat chalk. You would find her food to be a delicacy!"

"Sandra?" Mint asked, tilting his head.

Snap nodded. "Yeah. She's a sky blue dragon." He cocked an eyebrow. "Why? Do you know her?"

Mint opened his mouth, but he soon shut it. He shook his head. "No..I can't say I have..."

Snap looked at Mint in confusion at this. He quickly wrote it off. Mint probably got the name mixed up with another. It happens sometimes. He resumed his previous smiling expression and grabbed onto Rudy's hand, pulling on him. "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go! Sandra's Alcove isn't far!"

"Is there any particular reason you want to go to Sandra's Alcove?" Penny asked. "Didn't you eat there just the other day?"

"Yeah, but Sandra promised me something when I came over today." Snap replied. "Now come on! I'm not sure how long she is going to stay open today. She might close early because of that exploding machine!"

"Oh you're right, Snap." Penny rubbed the back of her head nervously. "She's probably worried her shop is next. She'll probably be turning in early and checking her place thoroughly to see if there's any problems."

Rudy put his hand over his pocket, directly where his piece of magic chalk was. "She can always ask me for assistance. I'll be glad to help her out."

Mint leaned towards Rudy, his arms folded against his chest. "Going to show off again I see?" Mint teased, a mischevious smile on his face.

Rudy shot him a soft glare. "I'm not showing off! I just like to help people!"

"I know." Mint raised up a hand, a sign that he didn't mean harm. "I just can't help but wonder if, on the off chance her restaurant is destroyed, you'd draw Sandra a highly detailed, convoluted restaurant much like Snap's beach house."

It was now Snap's turn to glare at Mint. A part of him wondered if it was a good idea to tell Mint that story, of how he had wanted Rudy to draw him a house, but ended up with so many ideas that not only did he drive Rudy crazy, but the house looked pretty silly afterwards. He still treasured the house, since it was a gift from Rudy. He didn't take too kindly to Mint, or anyone, poking fun at it.

"See here, Mint..." Snap started to say.

Before Snap could continue, Mint looked over at him. His eyes were widened, as if he didn't expect Snap to be that upset. He then smiled apologetically, lowering his head slightly while placing a hand on his chest. "I apologize. I didn't mean to upset you guys." Straightening himself up, he looked at the others one by one. "Well, are we going or not?"

"Yeah, let's get going before it's too late." Penny said, waving her hand, gesturing the others to follow. She stopped when she realized something. Smiling nervously, she looked over at Snap. "Where is Sandra's Alcove?"

Snap walked in front of his friends. He looked at them over his shoulder. "This way. Follow me!" He began to lead them down the road in the direction of Sandra's Alcove. As they went, Snap wondered how Sandra was doing. He hoped she was doing fine. If she was frightened of what happened, he and the others would do their best to calm her down. They would ensure nothing like that happened again.

sss

"How may I help you, sir?" Sandra asked, her voice shrouded in painfully controlled anger.

The customer didn't seem to notice. He was looking up at the menu, rubbing his chin as he looked at the different items available. "I'll have the orange strawberry salad, please."

Sandra took the money the zoner handed to her. She placed it in the register, using a bit more force than usual to open and close it. "I'll go get that for you. Please, have a seat..."

Snap winced at this. So much for Sandra doing fine. It was clear she was not in the best of moods right now. She was trying her best to hide it, but her anger was apparent to most of the zoners around here. Nobody spoke up, though, fearful that they might accidentally provoke her more. An angered zoner would be unpredictable and they did not want to make the situation worse.

He wondered what the problem was. Why was Sandra so upset? It had to be bad if she was so concerned about it over an explosion right here in the city. It wasn't even that far from her place, about five blocks down if he remembered the police reports right. For Sandra to not be fazed by that... Yeah something else was clearly going on. Whatever it was, he hoped she would be able to work it out and recover from it. It was sad to see her like this.

He and Sandra hit it off as friends when he offered to help her with her restaurant. She was so grateful and thanked him for all his hard work. He was glad that he helped her get her start, and he had even gotten some zoners to come over and eat during her first week. Sandra was always a nice, friendly zoner, and her amiable aura drew zoners to her.

So to see his dragon friend act differently shook him and others up. For Sandra of all zoners to be upset like this, something serious must be wrong.

But he decided it was best not to make her tell him. That might make the istuation worse. Instead, he would wait until she cooled down before he would try to talk to her about it. He hoped that, whatever it was, he and his human friends could find a way to help her.

"I really wish I knew what was wrong..." Penny asked.

"Yeah. I know she isn't lashing out at anyone, but I know a thing or two about repressing emotion," Mint pointed towards Sandra as the sky blue zoner was bringing a plate of fruit and some lettuce bits over to her newest customer. "And that's exactly what she's doing."

"I'll try to talk to her later." Snap said. He clasped his hands together, his eyes narrowed slightly. "I really don't want to bug her right now."

"Talking would help her feel better, perhaps." Penny said. "But you're probably right. Let's not aggravate the situation more than it needs to be."

"She probably just needs a little time. I'm sure she doesn't want to bite anyone's heads off." At this, Rudy winced for a second. He shifted his gaze down. "That can have some..nasty side effects."

As everyone nodded in agreement, Snap looked at his creator and friend sympathetically. Rudy was obviously remembering the time when he had yelled at Mint, chewing him out harshly, and then wishing harm on him. Even though Mint forgave him, even though Rudy came to terms with it, the boy still felt guilty at times when he thought back to that incident. Snap himself was sometimes a tad shaken up as he recalled how Rudy sounded like back then. But he couldn't blame him, given the situation at the time.

"Good idea." Mint nodded in Rudy's direction. He gave him a small smile, a silent way of telling him it's okay. This was enough to relax Rudy's facial features. Soon Mint's eyes widened slightly as he noticed something. "Sandra's coming."

The other three followed Mint's lead and turned in the direction he was looking. Sure enough, Sandra was approaching. Judging from her expression, she was still upset, but she was putting on the best smile that she could. She had her hands folded behind her back and her tail was raised in such a way that Snap recognized it was a greeting. He interacted her long enough to know this about her.

Snap recalled he hadn't even ordered his meal yet. He didn't have to. Sandra already knew what he wanted, and she knew that Mint, Rudy, and Penny could order nothing here, being human and all. So she allowed them to grab a seat while she took care of a couple of customers that came in around the same time as them.

"Hello, Snap." The dragon stood next to them, her head turning from left to right as she acknowledged the humans. "And greetings to you, too."

"Hi. You must be Sandra." Rudy said, smiling at her. "I don't think we got a chance to meet properly." He held out hs hands.

"Ah yes, the Great Creator." Sandra said, nodding her head. She took Rudy's hand and shook it. "I heard much about you from Snap."

"I tried to get her to ask you for help, but she declined." Snap said.

Rudy looked at Sandra, confused. "Really? How come?"

Sandra shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, I just rather do things myself. That's why I run this place on my own, despite the many customers I have." She placed a hand against her chest. "I don't like asking others for help, so I do what I can." She looked over in what Snap assumed was the direction of her kitchen. "I have some things to help me out."

"That's good." Rudy said. "I'm glad it's been working out for you." He paused, then lowered his head a little. "Still, I would have been glad to help if you just asked. I wouldn't have minded..."

Sandra raised her hand. "Don't worry about it, Great Creator."

"Please, call me Rudy." The boy replied. Sandra nodded in acknowledgement.

"And you must be Penny and Mint. Snap's talked about you as well." Sandra said as she turned her attention to the other two humans. She gave them both a smile as she shook their hands. "It is quite nice finally meeting Snap's human friends. I never directly interacted with a human before. It must feel great being able to draw whatever you want, having it magically appear in thin air..."

"Yeah, but we just use it to help the zoners usually." Rudy said with a smile.

"Or occasionally playing a game." Mint said, grinning. "Like that time we drew those go-karts and drove through a part of the Candycane Forest."

"Yes, Snap did mention that you don't abuse your powers. That's good." Sandra narrowed her eyes a little. "Who knows what kind of destruction could be caused by an irresponsible creator..."

Mint gulped at this, but said nothing. Snap glanced at him. Even though that statement wasn't directed at him specifically, he could understand why it would sting him so badly. Mint hadn't exactly been an angel when he first came. Being reminded of it wasn't pleasant. Snap could understand why, even after all this time, Mint would still feel bad about it. He almost wanted to say something to Sandra, but he held off, knowing that she didn't mean any harm.

"So uh.." Penny spoke up, wanting to change the subject. "Didn't you say you had something for Snap?"

Sandra looked at her, blinking a few times. Then she snapped her feather-like fingers, her expression brightening up. "As a matter of fact, I do!" She looked over at Snap and said, "Did you still want it?"

Snap nodded his head. "After what happened lately, I could go for some of that delicious meat roll you made!"

Sandra's face contorted into confusion. "...something happened?"

Snap's mouth dropped open. His friends were just as shocked. Was Sandra being serious? Did she really not know what happened? They looked at her, waiting to see if she was joking or lying in some way. But all Sandra did was look at them with a continued confused expression. They glanced at each other, gritting their teeth. They realized one of them would have to break the news to her.

Snap, being the only one she could call friend amongst them, having just met his human pals, decided it was best he be the one.

Snap raised up his hand in gesture as he started to explain. "Didn't you hear? There was an explosion that went off not far from here. Many zoners had been talking about it. There's some police reports, and they are attempting to start an investigation."

Sandra's ear twitched. "An explosion? Where?" As the others looked at her in shock, she raised her hand up and said, "It probably happened when I was in my kitchen. The walls are pretty thick there. I would not have detected an explosion."

"Even one five blocks away?" Penny inquired, tilting her head. Sandra stared at her, wide-eyed. Penny nodded, answering Sandra's unspoken question. "Yeah it was that close. Are you..sure you didn't hear anything? Or feel something?"

Sandra stared at them. For a few moments, her eyes bulged, her mouth remaining open. Soon, she raised her shoulders up, shrugging them as she turned her head from one side to the other a couple times. "No..I can't say that I have." She turned to Snap. "Did you?"

Snap shuddered. Images of how close he was to being harmed by the explosion. He had run as fast he could and he still got a little scathed by it. The feeling of the heat hitting his back... He winced at the pain. At least it was just a mild burn. Penny had told him he was lucky enough to gain the distance he had before it exploded. Had he stayed there a second longer, he would have been hurt a lot worse.

"Yes..." That was all Snap could bring himself to say. He looked at Sandra, locking eyes with her. They shared a look for a few seconds before he turned away.

Sandra's ears raised up and then they lowered. "Well I'm sorry to hear that." She lowered her head. "And I'm sorry that I confused you all with not hearing anything. I wish I could give you more information."

"Don't worry about it. We didn't hear anything either." Mint spoke up. "We just thought you, with your long ears, would have heard something around here. We were hoping for a time frame so we could tell the cops."

"I would tell them, but I had no watch with me and.." Snap said. He didn't finish. Judging from the others' expressions, they understood what he was getting at. "I'm just glad it'll be over soon. Soon the police will find out what happened..."

"...and they will arrest whoever is responsible." Mint concluded, giving a firm nod of his head. The others shared his sentiment.

Sandra stared wide-eyed at them. It was clear that she was still startled by the presence of an explosion near her place and she did not hear it. Then she gave a small smile, nodding her head once. "Yeah..."

Snap tilted his head. Sandra still sounded pretty bummed out from whatever happened to her. Her voice didn't sound that sincere. Her mind must be preoccupied with whatever had her upset earlier. As she spoke to him and his friends, they all could tell she was hiding some anger behind her voice. None of them asked what was wrong; instead they waited for her to speak. If she didn't want to, she didn't have to.

Snap hoped that Sandra would talk to them soon. He would love to help her out anyway he could. He wanted her to know that he would be there for her, and if she needed someone to talk to, he would listen. But for now, he would not press the matter.

"So anyway..I'll go get your food." Sandra said. She grinned at Snap. "I'm sure you're going to love it. It might be a little dry since I had to refrigerate it, but it should be fine reheated."

"I don't mind. I appreciate you saving me the food." Snap smiled back at her.

"That was really sweet of you." Penny commented.

Rudy nodded. "We appreciate it."

"If you have any ideas on a celebration, by the way, let us know!" Mint called to her just as Sandra was about to leave. The dragon stopped, turning her head enough so that one of her red eyes could see him. "We're splitting the cost of the...meat roller or whatever you called it, in part to celebrate Snap's success."

"Oh?" Sandra turned around. She folded her arms as she looked down at Snap. "A celebration, eh? Well congratulations, Snap." Sandra waved her hand to the zoner, almost in salution. "I'll bring you a free dessert."

Snap grinned at this. "Thanks!"

"Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back!"

With that, Sandra disappeared into the back.

sss

Sandra pulled out the tray from the microwave. It had just gotten finished heating up. She set it down on the counter and stared at it. She raised her snout and took in a deep breath. The smell of the food hit her nostrils, making her mouth water. She swallowed and tried to keep her attention focused on what she was supposed to be doing. This food belonged to Snap, not her.

She went over to the fridge again. She looked through it, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully. What should she bring the zoner? She didn't usually have a lot of desserts, and when she did, they were eaten up rather quickly. Luckily, this time she had some spare ones. After hearing about Snap's success in...whatever it was, she decided she wanted to give him a reward herself. Soon she spotted what appeared to be a cup of pudding with whipped cream. Yes, this would do. She grabbed it and put it on the tray.

As she headed back out to the front of the store, she noticed some of the zoners were looking at her warily. She bit her lip, lowering her ears. She felt bad for not controlling her anger as well as she could have earlier. She hoped that this would not ruin her business. Perhaps Snap or one of her regular customers could convince them that she wasn't going to harm them.

She usually was better at controlling her anger than this. She felt guilty that, despite her attempts, some of her distraught leaked through. The aura had spread through her restaurant. None of the zoners accused her of anything, and none of them looked like they were going to jump out the window. But many of them were looking at her, silently asking her if she was going to snap at them. She took in a deep breath, feeling her heart rate slow down some more. Yeah, she needed to be careful with her temper. Anger can make even the most logical person become irrational.

After all, it was probably just an accident that her machine was destroyed. She did feel a little bad that the explosion caused so much panic among the zoners. She hadn't realized her machine would explode and some distress to the populace here. Whenever she got around to making a new one, she would take precaution to ensure that it would not be damaged easily.

But before she could do that, she would have to get to the bottom of what happened to her first machine. A part of her still thought that someone had knocked it over, but perhaps it wasn't done deliberately. And who was to say that it was even a person? Perhaps some animal zoner got in there and knocked it over, or perhaps the shelf wasn't as structurally sound as she thought. There was a number of things that could have contributed to it. She would launch an investigation of her own. As soon as she found out what happened, she would make sure that a repeat would not happen.

Soon she reached the table where Snap and his human friends were waiting for her. With a big smile on her reptilian muzzle, she set the plate down, along with his dessert and drink. "Here you go."

"Thanks!" Snap said as he picked up the fork. He looked at the meat roll longingly. He licked his lips and said, "This looks delicious!"

Sandra smiled at him, moving a hand towards him in gesture. "Go on, eat up! Tell me what you think after you are done!"

With that, she turned and walked away. As she left, she could hear the four friends speaking to each other excitedly. She smiled at this. She wished she could join in on the celebration, but she wouldn't have time, unfortunately. She needed to devote her time to getting a new machine. Then, if she could think of something, she would provide some help with a celebration for Snap. Of course, it would help if she knew what he had done, but she would ask about that later. Right now, she wanted to leave him alone with his friends.

She moved towards the cash register. She took position behind it. She didn't see anyone coming into her restaurant yet, but she knew at any moment someone would. She had to be here just in case. She hated leaving her customers waiting.

Realizing that her customers were still nervous, she decided to do something to lighten the mood. She knew just the thing. She lowered herself and pulled out a shelf that was located below the register. She lifted up a small device and set it on the counter. It was a radio she had recently purchased. It wasn't big, but it was good enough. She pushed the antenna up and flipped it on. There was a burst of static, and then music began to play.

As the soothing music played, she could see that most of the zoners were starting to look noticeably calmer. She smiled at this. The music was helping her to relax as well. This was just what she needed. Now she'd be able to better focus on her next course of action. As everyone turned back to eating and chatting, Sandra leaned against the counter, her spiked tail swishing slowly from side to side. Her mind began to grind its gears as she started to think of how she was going to prevent her new machine from being damaged.

Perhaps increased security? Better building materials? Maybe she should cave in and hire some night time guards? Nah, she wasn't sure who was trustworthy and who wasn't. She didn't want her secret methods being revealed, otherwise other people would copy them. She prided herself in her technique and it would be such a disappointment if someone else copied her methods.

She didn't have long to think about it, however. As she was deep in thougt, she was brought out of it when the music suddenly stopped. A couple short bursts of static caused her to jerk in surprise and she turned her attention to the radio. All around her, she could vaguely sense that her customers heard this as well and were looking straight at the radio, too. She hardly paid attention, and listened intently as she started to hear a voice coming from the radio.

"Hello, this is Chyrnil of the police department here to give an important announcement. I know some of you already know this, but this is to inform those who may not have heard the news yet. This is being broadcast all over ChalkZone City and neighboring areas. Yesterday, an explosion went off in the underground section of the city. No one has been seriously harmed, and I assure you that I and the police are doing whatever we can to figure out what happened and find who was responsible."

Sandra stared at the radio, listening intently. She was curious about this explosion the others were talking about. The fact that it was underground did concern her. She wondered... Nah, it couldn't be. ...could it..?

The zoner continued. "We were able to find the source of the explosion. An abandoned warehouse which doesn't seem like it's been in use in a long time. The cause of the explosion was a shelf falling onto a strange machine. The machine has been confiscated, or whatever remained of it, for further study."

Sandra's eyes widened at this. The explosion they were talking about was her machine? She had thought it was something else. But wait, if the explosion Snap and the others were talking about was her machine, then, did that mean that...?

She shook her head. She couldn't jump to conclusions like that. No, it wasn't possible. She was just overreacting.

"We all have Snap to thank for this discovery. This machine, we have determined to be the cause of some of the electrical and security ailments that were spreading across ChalkZone, especially the hospital. We do not know why the machine does this, or even if this is what it was built for. One thing we do know is that Skrawl was using this to power his own robotic contraption. Whether or not this mystery machine is his, we don't know. We will give you further update on the detail."

Sandra glanced at Snap. He could see that he and his friends were looking over at the radio, smiling. They grinned at her, looking happy by what the announcer was saying. She did her best to look happy, waving her hand at them. Her smile faded as she looked back at the radio.

"According to our report, Snap is the one who neutralized the machine. It is thanks to him that Skrawl's machine was rendered useless and the ailing parts of the electrical grid are back to normal. But even though the threat is gone, something could surface up again. We advise you all to be careful as you walk the streets and watch where you step. Report any suspicious activity to me or one of my fellow officers. This is Chyrnil signing off."

With a flash of static, the radio went quiet. Then the soothing music returned. Intermixing with that, the sounds of the zoners congratulating Snap could be heard.

"You were the one who stopped it?"

"Were you scared?"

"How did you know to destroy it?"

Snap smiled as several zoners approached him. "Aww it was nothing really."

A tall, thing zoner put his hand on his shoulder. "Tell us the story!"

"Yeah!" A female zoner cried, jumping up and down excitedly. "We want to hear how you destroyed that awful machine!"

"Whoa whoa! One question at a time!" Snap glanced over at his human friends. They chuckled softly, but remained quiet, allowing Snap to talk to the crowd. Snap looked back at them and said with a broad smile. "I'll be happy to tell you what happened!" Snap suddenl jumped on the table, taking on a dramatic stance. "There I was..being chased down the alley by the Beanie Boys. I had to make choice. Left or right..."

As Snap spoke, Sandra was watching him from a distance, from behind the cash register. None of the other zoners noticed her expression. No one was asking her what was going on inside her mind right now. And a part of her was grateful for that.

A torrent of emotions swept through her body. She started to tremble, a chilling heat moving from her hand to her fingertips. It was an unpleasant sensation, feeling as though she dipped them in hot oil. Her widened eyes continued to stare at Snap. Though her ears twitched as she picked up sound, she did not acknowledge them. She didn't hear what the zoners were saying, and right now, she did not care.

The only thing she was paying attention to was Snap.

He..he was the reason her machine was destroyed? He was the one who had snuck into her warehouse and busted the machine? He was the reason that she was going to have to get a new device?

She couldn't believe it. There were a number of zoners she would have suspected first before Snap. In fact, Snap was not anywhere near on her list of suspects. She thought that he would never do such a thing. Snap didn't seem like the kind of zoner to turn his back on someone, or to cause harm to someone else's property, or to anything like that. She had always trusted him. She had felt she could turn to him for help. She had even considered asking him for help with protecting the new machine from harm.

But now she realized just how wrong she had been. If she were to show the new machine to Snap, would he try to destroy that one? Would he come back and do more harm? Was destroying the machine an accident or had he done it on purpose?

She couldn't stop the shivers from moving through her body. She couldn't stop the torrent of emotions eating away inside of her. It was so hard for her to grasp. Snap, the same zoner who had helped her build this place up, was the one who had invaded her warehouse and destroyed her machine. It was him..it had been him the whole time. The one zoner she thought she could trust the most. She could feel her stomach being twisted, feelings of betrayal eating away at her stomach.

It...it could still be an accident. Yeah, maybe Snap didn't mean it. She took a look at his burns, and it did seem like he was just running away. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. She could talk to him later and...

She gripped her head. Burning anger flooded her mind. No..the way the machine was destroyed..it was a deliberate act. This was not an accident. Snap..he had done this on purpose. She was sure of it. She closed her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth. A few tears moved down her cheeks. It was hard for her to grasp. Snap..he...he was the one who...

Sandra had made a vow to find the one responsible and make them pay. She was not about to go back on that promise, no matter who she figured out was the culprit. And once she makes a promise, she would never break it.

She opened up her eyes, the crimson orbs staring directly at Snap. No one saw her glare at him. No one saw her flash her sharp teeth. No one saw her shaking in angered betrayal. And perhaps that was for the best.

"Snap..." Sandra growled softly. "I...I really don't want to do this... I never wanted to...go after a friend..." She sniffled quietly, a few bitter tears moving down her face. She lowered her head, trying to steady her thoughts. The raging emotions continued to swirl inside of her. "But...I have no other options..."

As the zoners continued to congratulate Snap, as the small zoner answered their questions, as they all laughed, Sandra kept watching them intently. Her narrowed red eyes looked so sharp, anyone who would see them would think she could slice things open with just her eyes. She listened to them, and as she did, she knew what she had to do.

She had to take action. She had to keep Snap from ruining anymore of her plans. And she knew exactly how to do that.

"I'm so sorry, Snap." Sandra curled her lip up, showing off some of her sharp teeth. "But..this has to be done..." Her eyes narrowed deeply. "I promise..you will get what is coming to you."


	3. Mystery Of The Machine

If I could just see it all, just like a fly on the wall.

-Fly On The Wall, Thousand Foot Krutch

sss

"Wait...what happened?" Mint asked. His eyes were wide as he stared straight at Penny. He tried to see if there was any hesitation in those eyes, anyway where he could be sure that she was mistaken. Yet he found none. "You said that you..what..?" It was hard for him to take in.

"Yeah, Penny. Are you certain that it had that effect on you?" Snap folded his arms, tilting his head to the side. "It doesn't make much sense."

Rudy opened his mouth, but Penny interjected before he could say anything. "Yeah, well not all the zoners were affected, so it's obvious this signal doesn't discriminate against zoner and human."

"You do have a point there, Penny." Rudy nodded his head. He took a step towards her. "However, I do have a question for you." Penny turned her head towards him. "Why didn't you say something to Mint and I earlier?" He held his hand out in gesture. "If you were feeling strange thoughts, you should have said something."

"If we knew earlier..." Mint started to say.

"I know." Penny leaned back on the beanbag chair. She placed a hand against the side of her face. "I just..." She ran her fingers through a couple strands of her hair. "I'm not sure why I didn't say anything. I guess I was just too ashamed and.." Her eyes widened slightly. "Even that I'm not proud of. Why would I feel like this? There's only one thing I think it could be." She looked over at the others. "It has to be related to that machine."

Mint wasn't sure what to think about this. He remained silent as he let the others speak. He took a step back, his mind shrouding with multiple thoughts as he tried to make sense of it.

Having something in ChalkZone affect a human was not new. He himself had witnessed that first hand. Skrawl had taken over his body, forced him to attack Rudy. He could still sometimes feel the electricity course through his nerves, seizing control. He could still feel his arm being bent, and it chilled him knowing that if Skrawl had applied just a little more pressure, his arm would have snapped in half. Then there was the fact that Skrawl had cut off half his left leg, forcing him to wear a prosthetic.

So it wasn't a matter of the signal being of chalk origin. Being made of chalk does not mean humans aren't affected. A chalk-based knife going through the stomach fast enough, or chalk-based fire would still kill a human or any other being from the Real World. But what affects humans depends on what they were. For example, poison in the form of liquids would not harm a human due to the Real World fluids inside. The stuff would be dissolved before it could do much harm.

He would have written off Penny's experience as impossible since it was an invisible signal going to the mind. And after all, he and Rudy were not affected, a confusing development. But then he recalled how Rudy was affected by the dumb dart that Craniac 3 used on him. If he remembered the details right, Craniac 3 put a plunger-like device on his head that suppressed parts of Rudy's brain so he would be more cooperative.

So mental stimulation and manipulation was possible. But...Rudy's affliction was physical, and this was a signal, hidden in the air. He didn't want to doubt Penny. Not like she'd make something like this up. But it still puzzled him. Why only her? Why not all three of them? Why wasn't Snap affected? Why just certain zoners?

He hoped that, whatever it was, they figure it out sooner or later.

"If we can figure out what the machine was used for," Penny said, breaking the silence that settled in the room. "Then we can discuss where to go from there."

"That is easier said than done." Mint commented. His eyes were furrowed with concern, his gaze towards the ground. "This is ChalkZone. Some of the rules of the Real World don't apply."

"True, but we have to try." Rudy said.

"I know we do. I'm not saying we should give up. But something is concerning me." Mint rubbed his fingers along the bottom of his chin. He didn't bother looking at his friends. His mind was focused on the details that disturbed him the most about this case. "Whoever built this machine.. It's obvious they must have a lot of intelligence to engineer it to only affect certain zoners." He looked over at Penny. "And if it could affect you..." He looked over at Rudy. "Then you could be affected as well." He put a hand against his chest. "As could I." He sighed as he closed his eyes, shaking his head. "That brings about some problems. If we don't know how this machine is targeting these people..."

His voice trailed off. Silence permeated the room again. He looked at the others. He could see they all had a look of realization on their faces. It seemed they understood where he was getting at, why this may be more serious than they previously thought.

If this mystery zoner could use this machine to target certain individuals, if they could target humans even, then what chance did they stand against them? Mint wasn't about to give up, of course, but they would need to be a lot more careful. They had to figure out more about how these afflictions were affecting the zoners before they could figure out the possibilities. So far, they just knew that some zoners were acting a little weird, and electrical things like security systems weren't functioning properly.

But he didn't want to rule out the possibilities. Whoever this zoner was, it was clear they were willing to violate even personal identity to get what they want. He did not want to dismiss how low this zoner was willing to go. He had to be prepared for a fight. He knew Rudy, Penny, and Snap would rather avoid it if possible. But for him, if this zoner wanted a fight...

...then he would give them a fight.

"It was scary.. how I started to think a little differently..." Penny shuddered. She grabbed the sides of her head, as if she were afraid someone was about to take it away. "I knew something was wrong...yet I couldn't fight the feeling. It could have been much worse...and that's what scares me." Penny stared at Rudy wide-eyed. "What if this machine could hack into our minds and influence our choices?" Mint, Snap, and Rudy looked at each other, remaining silent. "What if this zoner would get us to go after the wrong person, and they get away scott free?"

Mint clenched his teeth at this. Penny was right. This was definitely a terrifying predicament. He wouldn't like sending the wrong zoner to prison, to allow the real culprit to escape. Even if that isn't what the culprit was going to do, it was best not to take risks. They had to consider this very real, terrifying possibility.

"Well..maybe they wouldn't try to do that?" Snap suggested. He gave a nervous chuckle, but it was clear that he was uncertain. He continued, "Maybe we should talk to some of the zoners affected?" The others leaned in at this. "We could get information on how they felt, and from there, we can deduce a similarity? If we find what they all had in common, we coud use that to determine how to deal with this signal."

"...and maybe even what this zoner wants..." Rudy said, his eyes widening slightly. "Snap, you're a genius!"

Snap smiled at this, chuckling light-heartedly. "No problem, Rudy."

"But it will have to wait until tomorrow." Penny said. The others looked at her, a little puzzled. "Don't you remember how long we've been here? It's been hours." She pointed out. She pulled out her cellphone and pointed at the time. "We need to leave soon before our families realize we're gone."

"Oh yeah..." Mint felt stupid. He hadn't realized just how long they were in the restaurant talking with those zoners. They didn't realize how long they had been at Snap's treehouse. How time flies... "My dad won't be happy if he doesn't see me in my bedroom when he comes home."

Penny nodded in agreement. "My mom will go nuts if she doesn't find me in the room. I promised I would help her with this injured bird she brought in."

"A real one, right?" Mint said with a grin. "Not a fake one you found laying around in the grass?"

Penny glared at him. "I thought it was real, okay?"

Mint's smile grew wider. "Oh I'm sure you did, amateur."

Penny's glare narrowed, but a small smile tucked away at the corner of her mouth. She placed her hand against Mint and gave him a gentle shove to the side. "Oh knock it off, rust leg."

Mint couldn't help but chuckle. Coming from anyone else, those words would have been hurtful. But between the two of them, it was nothing more than playful banter. Mint enjoyed the brief moment of humor in the midst of the serious situation they were in.

Rudy smiled at this, but only for a moment. His previous frown returned. That thinking face that Mint became quite familiar with. "This is what I propose we do. We will come back here tomorrow in the morning, before it's time for us to go to school. We will use that time to talk to some of the zoners we know were affected by the machine." He paused for a moment. "If we're allowed to talk to them."

"Yeah that's right..." Mint's eyes grew a bit bigger. "Didn't the doctors say they wanted to quarantine those affected to make sure it doesn't spread?"

"Hmm..." Snap folded his arms. "How are we going to talk to them then?"

"I could try to convince the doctors...but I have a feeling I won't go much anywhere with them." Rudy said. "Great Creator or not, they will not let me do anything they think will endanger the zoners, or delay the treatment they need, or figure out what is going on."

"Yeah, and I know they'd be less happy if I did it." Mint pointed out. With a finger in the air, he said, "Some zoners still call me the Enemy Creator."

He was greeted with three expressions of sympathy. Most zoners had forgiven Mint and moved on. But there were still the few who still retained a grudge against him. But Mint usually did not let this bother him, and normally these zoners left him alone.

Wanting to get off that subject and steer it back on track, he said, "I'm sure we can think of something to convince the doctors to let us see some of the patients. We don't need to see all of them..." He looked over at Penny. "Right?"

Penny replied, "No. We just need to see a decent amount. I would say at least five would be good enough to start with. More would be better. But getting a ballpark estimate would be good enough for now. We would be able to at least get an idea of where this could be going."

"That sounds like a good idea." Mint nodded his head. "That way, we can get an idea faster. If we tried to interview everyone..."

"That would take a while, Mint." Rudy said. "And we don't know when this zoner will strike next."

"Yeah, I know." Mint looked over at the boy. "That's what I was getting at."

For the next few minutes, the four friends began to discuss what they were going to do. They all needed a good idea of what to expect tomorrow, so they could get the plan put forward as quickly and accurately as possible. The sooner they could get all this done, the sooner they could figure out what might be going on, and the sooner they could take action.

Mint threw in some of his own suggestions into the mix. Some of the were rejected for being too upfront or too aggressive. Though frustrated, Mint was not surprised by this. Even after all this time mellowing out with these three, Mint still retained some of his hostile traits. Out of all of them, he was the most eager to use aggression to get what he wanted. This wasn't something the others approved of, and he worked to correct it. But he had a feeling it would take many more years before this was weaned out of his system.

After some more minutes of chatting, throwing in ideas, they all finally agreed on a plan. Rudy wrote it down on four pieces of paper, one for each of them. That way, they'd all remember. They didn't want to forget any of the steps, and they didn't want to have to contact each other just to remember one or two things. Not only would this take away precious time, but it could potentially garner unwanted attention from someone in the Real World if they weren't careful.

Mint rolled the piece of paper and stuffed it into his pocket for safe keeping. "Well I better get going. My dad will be home soon."

"Yeah, good idea." Rudy said. He looked over at Snap. "We'll see you tomorrow morning. Just remember to be up at seven."

Snap nodded and gave a small salute. "Don't worry, Bucko! I'll be up!" He reached behind him and pulled out a small alarm clock. "I'll just set this baby to wake me up half an hour before. That'll give me plenty of time to grab a quick bite to eat, then I'll meet you three at the usual place, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Penny said.

"Just to make sure, everyone agrees on the plan right?" Rudy asked. He looked at everyone in the room, searching for any uncertain expressions, or anyone to speak up. When no one did, he lowered his arms to his side. "Okay, good." He gave a nod to Mint and Penny. "Come on. Let's get going." He looked back at Snap. "See you later, Snap!"

"Bye!" Mint and Penny cried as they went towards the exit.

Snap waved to him. Before they disappeared completely, it seemed Snap had one more idea. "I might try to speak to Sandra tomorrow morning."

At this, Mint froze. This wasn't the only time he reacted to the name. Something about it just felt...familiar. He wasn't sure why. He did feel bad about lying to Penny about it, but what else could he do? He wasn't even sure if he knew this name or not. It was just a nagging feeling in the back of his head. It was one of those things where it could go either way. Until he was certain, he didn't want to bring it up.

He did his best to look calm and curious to Snap. He didn't want to look suspicious or concerned as he addressed the zoner. "Why? I thought Sandra didn't know anything about the explosion."

"I'm not sure if Sandra would have any information we could use." Rudy pointed out. "Besides, she was in her restaurant all day when it happened."

"True, but maybe she knows someone?" Snap suggested. He held his hands up. "I mean, true, she was only around for a month at least. But...she did garner a lot of customers. Maybe one of them figured something out?" He turned his head, looking at each of the humans standing before him. "It's worth a try, right?"

"Hmm..." Rudy thought about this, his eyes narrowing. "Well...you do have a point, Snap." He lifted his head back up. "If Sandra's Alcove is as popular as you say, than maybe she did have some less than pleasant customers. If she could provide us with information, that would certainly be helpful."

"Even if it's not much, every little bit counts." Penny said. The others nodded in agreement.

"If you do figure out some information from her," Mint spoke up, trying to sound as confident as he could. "Let us know."

Snap nodded his head. "Will do!"

With that, the humans began to leave the treehouse, once again saying their goodbyes to Snap as they left. As they climbed down the steps and began to go their separate ways towards their homes, Mint's thoughts returned to Sandra.

Why did he recognize the name? He doesn't recall hearing it before, yet hearing it being mentioned, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something he was overlooking. A part of him wished he brought it up during the meeting. Even if he couldn't figure out why he felt like he may recognize the name, wasn't it best that he at least bring it up? Instead, he chose to block it out.

Oh well, he could always say something tomorrow. There was more time to speak then. More time to discuss the matter at hand. For now, it was time to rest.

sss

Unbeknownst to the three humans returning home, a pair of red eyes watched them from a distance. A single blue zoner stood far back, her body partially hidden by the couple trees that she used to hide herself. She glared at the retreating humans, but did not make a move forward, knowing full well she couldn't risk it.

It was not until the humans were far out of her sight that she began to move forward. Only then did Sandra deem it safe for her to approach Snap's abode.

The dragon zoner's ears were slightly raised. She listened intently to whatever was going on around her. She needed to remain fully alert. She didn't know what zoners came by this way, and she had no idea if Snap was expecting any company.

And she especially did not want to draw attention from Snap. She was bringing him something, but she did not want to sit down and chat with him. She was still in a rather pissy mood when she found out he was the one who destroyed her machine. She needed to avoid him until she could set the plan in motion and had some time to practice controlling her behavior some more. Out of all the zoners, Snap knew her the best. One wrong move was all it was going to take to really screw this up.

She slowly approached his treehouse. He had told her that he moved around a lot, but there were places that he liked to visit a lot. This treehouse was one of them. He often came here to play games with his friends. So this was the first place she thought to go. Luck seemed to be on her side when she saw that he was indeed here. When the lights went out, she knew that he was going to remain there until the next day. This was her best chance to make a move.

In her hand, she clutched something rectangular, colored a pale yellow. She turned her head, looking down at it. She then looked back at Snap's treehouse. A part of her felt melancholy for what she was about to do. But the other told her it was either this, or she may end up losing her business entirely.

It didn't take her that long to reach Snap's treehouse. She stopped in front of it and looked up. She waited and listened. When she could confirm that Snap had no idea she was there, she walked around, trying to find where his mail would go. She didn't see any. Her ears lowered and she growled in frustration. Where did the zoner get his mail then? She soon realized that since Snap moved around a lot, he probably didn't have mailboxes everywhere.

At this, she squeezed the item in her hand tighter. Now how was she going to deliver this? She looked up towards the tree house. She didn't want to have to do this, but it seemed she had no choice. She would have to climb up the steps and force it underneath his door.

Sandra walked up to the steps, which were thick platforms ticking out of the tree. She could see some remnants of a ladder nearby and she concluded that someone put these steps here because the ladder became too inefficient. She began to steadily climb up. She had to be careful; these steps were awkwardly placed, at least for her, and a few times, her tail would hit against one of the steps. Halfway up, she began to wonder just how Snap can handle climbing up this thing and why he didn't get Rudy to draw something better, like an elevator or something.

Soon she reached the top, and felt relief as her toes touched the platform the house was suspended upon. She looked down and was shocked to see that she really wasn't that high up, yet it felt like it took forever to climb this thing. She shook her head and then turned her attention to the door.

She approached the door, taking only two steps to get there. She took care not to let her claws clang against the wooden ground. She looked at the rectangle object in her hands and lowered herself onto her knee. She attempted to push it underneath the doorframe. She hissed softly when the piece just bent as she tried to shove it in. She put her eye close and she saw there was practically no space here. She moved her head back. She was not going to get the item in that way.

Sandra straightened herself up and looked around, her narrowed eyes looking at every detail of this place. There has to be something her she could use. She noticed a satellite on the roof, but that would do her no good. She looked at the sides of the small building, but the windows were closed. She leaned against the wooden railing, tapping her finger against her chin. There had to be someway she could get this inside the house without Snap knowing she was here.

As she leaned against the railing, she felt something bend under her weight. Her ears raised up as she realized she was falling forward. The wood snapped in half and she was sent flying forward. She tried not to scream as she plummeted down. She hit against the tall, black pole that stood next to Snap's tree house and let out a groan as she slowly slid down. She hit the bottom and she rubbed her head. She shook it and looked up. Seeing that Snap didn't realize she was there, Sandra stood up and brushed herself off.

Up the steps she went again. This time, she was able to move faster, knowing now what to expect as she scaled up. Back on the platform, she looked around and realized there was only one other place she could try: the roof.

Sandra could see that there was a thick branch that bent upwards, close to the roof. She walked over slowly. She climbed up, using her claws to keep her footing. Soon the branch parted into two, and she used the smaller one to help her get on the roof. She had to swing herself back and forth in order to get the momentum. Soon, she was able to launch herself on the roof. She winced when she realized that she hit the roof a little too hard. Her claws dug deep into it as her chin slammed against the surface.

Unlike her falling down earlier, this did not go unnoticed by Snap.

Seconds later, Sandra heard the window opening. She clenched her teeth and moved back as she heard Snap's voice calling out.

"Who's there?!"

Sandra didn't answer.

"I know I heard something. Come on out!"

Sandra clenched her jaws shut tightly. It was tempting to say something, to jump down and do what had tobe done. But she had to remain still. Everything had to be planned perfectly. If she gave in..she would ruin everything.

Snap spent about a minute calling out to the intruder. But when Sandra remained quiet long enough, Snap seemed to get the message.

"Huh." Snap said. Sandra envisioned him rubbing his head. "Maybe I was just hearing things..." With that, Snap disappeared back into his house. But the window was left open. Perfect...

Sandra inched her way over towards the edge of the roof. She ignored the mild pain from her belly being scraped along the wooden surface. She moved her feet carefully, letting them soundlessly come forward without hitting against the wood. In a matter of moments, she was draping over the edge, her foot claws digging in deep to hold her up.

Dangling upside down was not fun and she could feel the blood rush to her head, so she had to do this quickly. She used her hand to grip onto the window. Despite their sharp appearance, her pointed fingers were not claws or hard for that matter, so she did not fear scraping the window when she touched it. She moved down as far as she could go. She used her tail to wrap around the satellite dish for more leverage. Soon she was able to get a peak inside the tree house.

She could see Snap laying on one of the bean bag chairs. The television light blared in her face, causing her to turn away. Snap must have the volume real low; she did not hear much from the television. Well at least Snap was distracted. That would give her time to toss in the item through his window. She just had to get the right angle and...

Good... With a single toss, she was able to get the yellow rectangle into the treehouse. She didn't hear Snap getting up and she didn't see him looking around. He must not have heard. Oh well, he would see it in the morning, she was certain. All she had to do now was play the waiting game.

"Oh no, don't go in there! Oh I can't watch!"

Sandra cocked an eyebrow. Her mouth dropped open, her teeth partiall exposed. What was this zoner talking about? Then, she got her answer.

Suddenly, a loud roar rang out through the air. Sandra's ears shot straight up as she let out a yelp of fear. She lost her grip on the roof and her tail fumbled. She flopped forward and did a flip, slamming her back against the branch she had just climbed up on. She laid there for a few seconds before sliding forward. Her eyes widened in horror as she plummeted upside down towards the ground below. She didn't have time to scream as her head smashed into the dirt, getting her muzzle stuck part way into the ground.

She began to struggle, using her feet for leverage and pushing up on her hands. She froze when she heard Snap's voice calling out again.

"Okay I'm serious. Who is here?!"

It took about twice as long before Snap went away this time. Unlike before, he closed the window this time around. She heard it shut in unison of her pushing her face out of the dirt. She coughed and wheezed, trying to get the dirt out of her mouth and nostrils. After she wiped them off, she looked up at the tree house, glaring softly. This had been more trouble than she realized it would be.

But at least the item was delivered now. She could leave. Tomorrow, she would put everything into motion. Satisfied, she bolted off away from the tree house, returning back to her place.

sss

Snap lifted up the remote and shut the television off. It was getting late. He had promised his friend that he would be up in time for the meeting. If he stayed up too much longer, he was going to oversleep, even with the alarm set.

Speaking of the alarm, he hadn't quite set it yet. He got up from his seated position and walked over towards the small table where his clock was placed. He lifted it up and pressed a few buttons. After he set the alarm for 6:30, he decided it was best to head to bed now. It was around eleven now, so if he hurried up and went to bed, he'd get at least a decent amount of sleep before he had to meet his friends.

He didn't think it would be too difficult falling asleep even after watching that horror movie. It was rather cheesy and the special effects were boring and too noticeable. Plus, it had some bad acting and horrible lines. Overall, it was a cheap movie made by cheap people. It had its moments, like that monster jumping out of thin air, but other than that, it could have been a lot better.

The only thing that really got his skin crawling wasn't even the movie. It was the weird sounds he had been hearing as he was trying to watch the television. He gave a shudder, wondering just what it was. He tried to dismiss it as just his imagination, but somehow, he had his doubts about that. Something about that theory just seemed...wrong. He heard scraping on the roof.. He couldn't have imagined that, could he? Over and over?

Someone had been here. He wanted to go out so badly and check. But his better judgment told him to stay put and wait until tomorrow. He could tell Rudy, Penny, and Mint about it. They might have an idea of who or what it was. Maybe it was just a stray bird zoner that crashed into his place. Unlikely...but still a probable scenario.

He tried his best to shove his fearful thoughts aside. There was nothing he could do right now except wait. It wouldn't be a smart move to wander out there if he thought there was a threat. What if they were waiting for him and would attack when he least expected it? Yeah, best to remain inside and talk to his friends about it the next day. Whatever it was, they were gone now. He hadn't heard a peep out of them since that crash he heard earlier. They must have fled off somewhere.

Snap gave a small smile at this. Yeah it was probably just some coward who thought they could sneak up on him. If they had come into his place, he would have shown them a thing or to about trying to mess with him. He might not be an aggressive zoner, but he had a trick or two up his sleeve. His friends sometimes got a taste of this when he was feeling particularly playful.

Of course he would not let his guard down. His windows were shut tightly and door locked, so he was safe for tonight. But he still would be on edge. Regardless if this guy was a coward or not, they could still be dangerous, especially if they were aware of his weakness. Not many zoners knew of the prosthetic in his back. His three human friends knew of course, and so did the doctors that treated him. Outside of that, he only told a few zoners, like Rapsheeba, Blocky, Lars, and Sandra.

The prosthetic was strong, but not as strong as the rest of his vertebrae. It was a weak spot that could easily break if the right force at the right angle were applied. That area was also highly sensitive. Skrawl's claws really raked him deep. The damage they caused, along with the massive bruising and broken pieces of bone from Mint's attack, left the area somewhat painful to touch. Even light pressure was enough to make him feel uncomfortable. He became quite protective of that area and could be easily set at unease at anyone but someone he trusted touching that spot.

He soon realized he was being a little silly. What were the odds of anyone who wanted to hurt him getting in here, who knew about his prosthetic? It wasn't like anyone he knew was going to spread the word or anything. He had requested it not be common knowledge, and anyone else who asked, to just say his back healed on its own. He didn't want to risk an enemy finding out about his weakness.

He glanced back at the time and realized he had wasted too many minutes thinking to himself about the intruder he had heard earlier. It was time for him to head off to bed. He walked over to the small bed in the corner, which was low to the ground, nearly touching it. He pulled the blanket back and began to crawl into it, making sure the alarm clock was set close to him.

Before he could head off to sleep, he noticed something sticking out of a small pile in front of him. He squinted, trying to get a better look. The item was rectangular and colored yellow, it seemed. He immediately got out of his bed and walked over towards it. He grabbed it and lifted it up.

Snap held the item in his hand, turning it from side to side. It felt soft, yet stiff. It wasn't too large. Flat yet wide. And it was very light. Upon turning on the light, the illumination spreading throughout the room, he identified the object as a letter.

The envelope wasn't too fancy. Just pale yellow. No decorative details. Not even a stamp. He briefly wondered if the person he heard earlier was trying to get this delivered. If that were the case, he felt a little bad for shouting. Maybe he scared them away. He turned his attention back to the letter. He shook it a few times, trying to get an idea of what it was. He could hear something move inside, and he immediately ripped it open.

It was a card of some kind. The card wasn't as simple. It was dark blue in color with some black swirls around it that had glitter in them. He examined the card some more. There was nothing tucked away inside. But when he opened it, he was greated with some thick, bold letters that had a slight glow to them even in the brightness of his room. His eyes skimmed the letter, and he began to read it.

"Dear Snap,

I apologize for not handing this out in person. I wanted to, but I wanted it to be a surprise for you to wake up to tomorrow morning. I have some wonderful news.

I heard about what you have done with that dreaded machine. It was scary how it was affecting zoners and electronics like that. I am so glad that you were able to stop it. I heard some zoners talking rather fondly of you, and some of them mentioned you deserve a party.

I couldn't agree more. You really do deserve one. It might not seem like much, stopping one machine, but that did make a big difference. You would not believe just how widespread that machine's possible damage could have been. It was definitely good that you were able to locate it and destroy it before the damage could spread further.

Tomorrow, in the afternoon, I plan on holding a large party in your honor. I would be delighted and honored if you would come and grace your presence. The party will be located at the Shrapnel Tower, that new place in town. Don't worry, there won't be any sharp edges to steop on. I had those removed.

Oh and this party is invitation only. Sorry, but only you can come over. There isn't much room in this place and I already sent invitations out to many other zoners. So no, your human friends can't come over. I'm so sorry about that.

Well I'll let you get ready. I look forward to seeing you there. I hope you will have a great time. Believe me, tomorrow at the party, you will get what you deserve.

From, Sandra"

Snap stared at the letter and, slowly, closed it. So the letter had come from Sandra. According to the time stamp on the card, the party really was dated tomorrow. He wondered why Sandra didn't say 'today' instead of 'tomorrow', but perhaps she wrote the letter late.

He wondered if that was Sandra sneaking around. If so, the thought brought a shudder to him. Sandra knew she didn't have to sneak around like that. Why would she try to hide herself? Well, in her card, she did say that she wanted it to be a surprise. He could kind of understand that. Surprises were great, and he had to admit, the idea of a party did sound wonderful.

He couldn't help but feel disappointment that his human friends couldn't go. He would have gladly brought them with. They would have enjoyed it, even if they couldn't eat any of the food. Yet, he could understand Sandra's concern. The Shrapnel Tower was not a particularl large building, so too many invites would be problematic. The building itself was located in the outskirts of town, near the very edge. It only recently appeared, and was so new, it didn't even have a purpose yet. Maybe if Sandra's party for him went well, they could use it for that.

Snap wondered if any of the machine's victims were going to be there. That was a possibility. If Sandra met a few of them, she may have invited them so they could thank him for freeing them from the thing's influence. He hoped so. He could use this opportunity to talk to them about the effects so he and his friends could try to figure out what the machine's purpose was, and just who it was targeting. That way, other zoners don't have to worry about being the next targets.

And maybe Sandra could have figured out a thing or to. If she spoke to these victims, she might have learned some important information. Even if she did not get any new information from them, he could still talk to her. She might still have some knowlege that they could use to find the culprit. He kind of wished that Sandra had stayed over and chatted with him. He would have loved to talk to her about this.

Oh well, he could always wait until tomorrow. Sandra was going to be at this party. All he had to do was wait, and he would see her again. He would need to make sure to let his friends know. It was going to be sad having to tell them that they couldn't come with. But they'd understand. It wasn't like he was purposely leaving them out or anything.

He shuddered as he thought of the machine again. Just what was it? What did it do? He asked himself this already, over and over. He tried to relax is mind, but sometimes, the thoughts just came flooding to him. The idea of there being a mystery machine out there chilled him.

This unknown threat.. It had to be taken care of soon. They stopped it, yes, but that wasn't enough. They needed to find who the culprit was. Only when they catch who did it could they rest easily at night.

He thought back to the machine's effects. He knew that the machine was trying to weaken security systems and zoners. But why, he wasn't sure. The culprit didn't try to catch anybody or steal anything. No reports on missing victims, or anyone sneaking around, trying to crawl into a building they weren't allowed in. But that didn't rule out the possibility of zoners being targeted specifically.

The machine was making zoners, and Penny, think weird, and act weird. He didn't know the full details, but from what little he knew, it was apparent that this culprit wanted some zoners to be in a weakened state of mind. But why? The compromised security system gave him an idea.

What if the machine was being used to allow this zoner to break in and capture someone? It seemed that this zoner could be after anyone, if the signal affected random zoners like that. Maybe the only reason no one disappeared yet was because someone always came into a position that would compromise their attempts.

Of course, it was possible that the zoner in question was just trying to steal something. That would be a good explanation for the security systems being affected. But..why a hospital if that were the case? What could they get stealing from a place like that? Medicines perhaps, and maybe the money, but the hospital wasn't exactly a prime target for thieves. A robber would usually go after something bigger, like a bank. Huge risk, but more rewarding in the end.

It was for this reason Snap couldn't help but wonder if this zoner was after random victims. This scared him even more than someone specifically targeting another. In specific target cases, they had a better idea of what they were potentially up against, and what to expect. But if the attacks were random... then they stood little chance of guessing when and where the attacker would strike next. And Snap wasn't sure how Rudy, Penny, or Mint felt, but a villain who indiscriminately targeted random people like it was nothing was more terrifying than one with a more defined goal.

Well there wasn't much he could do right now. He could stay up all night if he wanted to, thinking about this. But without extra information, he was not going to get much anywhere. The best thing for him to do was lay down and sleep on it. Perhaps, after a good night's rest, he could think back to the problem and figure something out. Plus, a chat with his friends, and later with Sandra and some victims, may help shed some light on the issue.

He hoped the victims didn't mind talking too much. He would understand if they didn't want to talk about their experience. If Penny's recount told him anything, it was an uncomfortable and scary experience. He knew that the victims of the machine may not feel comfortable with telling him about what happened to their minds while the machine was active. They might also feel ashamed, depending on what thoughts the machine forced through their heads.

Still, he hoped that some of them were willing to talk. If he explained to them that if they figured out what the machine did, they could stop it from ever happening again. By talking about their experience, they would be helping others, and themselves, from ever having to experience that dreaded machine ever again.

But if they didn't want to talk about it, even after explaining how it could help them, he would not push it. He knew what it felt like being traumatized and afraid, as did his friends. Pushing the issue would only make matters worse. If the zoners insisted on not talking yet, he would back down. He and his friends could always wait a few days before trying again. Perhaps, after at least a week, at least a couple zoners would have calmed down enough to speak.

He really should have to sleep now. He stayed up long enough. He not only had a meeting with his friends, but he also wanted to be presentable when he went to Sandra's celebration party for him. He didn't want to walk in there, looking like he just crawled out of bed. He pushed aside his nagging thoughts about the machine and the party so he could focus on getting to sleep.

Snap closed the letter and went over to the television. He placed the card there, pushing it partially underneath so he knew where it was when he first woke up. He straightened out his arms, feeling his muscles stretching. He let out a loud yawn and smacked his lips together.

He headed back over to his bed. As he did so, he felt his eyes get heavy, a ring of tiredness surrounding them. He felt like he could collapse at any time. Unable to stop himself, he let out another yawn. He crawled back into his bed, snuggling up underneath the covers. He pulled the blanket of his body and curled up. He closed his eyes and started to go to sleep.


	4. A Worrying Implication

Keep the pieces in the drawer. Keep them there forever more.

-Throw Me Away, Korn

sss

It didn't take Snap too long to finish up his breakfast. He wasn't sure if Sandra's Alcove even had breakfast, but he was glad he came anyway. The meal itself wasn't anything too different from what he had seen before. Eggs and bacon. But he still enjoyed it nonetheless. He didn't really want anything too fancy since he had to meet up with his friends soon.

He was concerned about Sandra, though. She still seemed to be upset about something. He still thought it was most likely the explosion that occurred not far from her restaurant. She was probably worried it might get destroyed, and understandably so. It wasn't the building he was concerned about; what would happen if a bomb of sorts went off while she and her customers were still in here?

Snap shuddered, not wanting to think about it too much. He reminded himself that at least the machine was stopped, and so far there hadn't been any reports of others. This helped put his mind at ease, and he could start thinking on more preventative measures. If they could figure out who the owner was...

...then perhaps they could learn what the purpose of the machines were. Then they could also locate the owner and have him or her arrested before they could build anything else. He didn't know how long they had before the owner would strike again, but he was confident they'd figure it out before it was too late.

He glanced over at Sandra. She was still acting pretty calm, but it seemed a bit forced. It was clear, from the tone of her voice, the way she spoke to the zoners, and her movements, something was bugging her. It wasn't as bad as the other day, but still noticeable.

He wondered if this party was partly for her. Maybe she wanted something more lighthearted and jovial to look forward to, in order to take her mind off the explosion, or whatever else was working her up. Snap wanted to try to comfort her, but without knowing what was wrong, there was little he could do. He could only hope that Sandra feels better soon.

Sandra had noticed that he finished up his plate. She strode over towards him, her tail tip moving from side to side as it was elevated off the ground. She folded her arms across her metal chest plate and stared intently at him. Her red eyes shifted from his mostly empty plate, then back ot him.

"I see you're already done." Sandra noted. She tilted her head to one side. "That was rather..fast."

"I can eat fast if I have to." Snap said.

Sandra nodded her head. "I can believe that." She placed a hand on her table, leaning against it. The top of her other hand was pressed against her side. "So..where are you going in such a hurry?" Snap blinked at her. Sandra chuckled. "Oh don't try to lie to me, Snap. I can see it in your eyes. You're in a hurry. Tell me, why the rush?"

Snap wondered if he should bring it up now. He had been wanting to speak to her about her customers, if she noticed anything strange. But with her being in a bad mood, would now be a good time?

He decided it was best to just ask and get it out of the way. The sooner he got the information, the better.

Snap picked up his drink, some orange juice still available in it for him. "My friends and I are going to investigate that explosion some more." He took a sip of his drink. He smacked his lips together as he tasted the citrus flavor. "Well specifically, we are going to go talk to some of the patients who had been affected by the machine's signal." He gave Sandra a sideways glance. "We hope to gather up enough information to help us pinpoint the one who created the machine."

At this, Sandra's pupils shrank for a second, her eyes widening. She soon relaxed them. "I see..." She took a small step back, tilting her muzzle downward. "Well then...I'll let you get right onto that." She began to turn away. "Good day to you, Snap."

Snap raised up his hand. "Wait!" Sandra paused, but did not look back at him. "I need to speak to you!"

"Oh?" Sandra straightened herself up. She turned her head, her long ears raising up as a single red eye looked over at Snap. "Why do you need to speak to me?"

"I know now is probably not a good time for me to ask this. I noticed you seem upset by something and I don't want to stress you out more. But...I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me anything you possibly know." Snap explained the best he could. He spoke in a calm voice, adopting a somewhat submissive posture as to not make Sandra feel threatened. "Please, my friends and I can use it to make sure this never happens again."

Sandra was silent. She stood there, frozen and unmoving. The only part of her that had any action to it was her tail. It was moving swiftly around, almost like a cat getting ready to strike. Her eyes were narrowed in deep thought. She wasn't looking at him. She averted his gaze and looked at the ground. She remained like this for a while, and Snap felt his heart clench. Had he gone too far? Had he upset her? He leaned forward to try to apologize, but when he did, Sandra finally made her move.

The bipedal dragon slowly turned around to face him. Her feet shuffled along the ground, her claws momentarily scraping it as she nearly stripped over herself. Her arms remained behind her back. She stared at him intently, leaning forward and peering into his eyes. She appeared to be making a decision. Not wanting to rush her, Snap remained quiet, waiting.

Then Sandra gave her response.

"...all right then..." She raised her head up higher. Her left ear twitched a little. She lowered her body so she could raise up her foot. She scratched herself with her foot talons. Upon straightening herself up, shaking her head once, she said, "Go on. Shoot. Tell me what you want."

"Well..." Snap was a little caught off guard. He hadn't expected her to essentiall say 'yes' this easily. He would have thought it would take some more bribing. It took him a few seconds before he figured out how he wanted to say it. "I want to know if you can tell me about any suspicious customers that came by this way. Any one who seemed a bit too aggressive or demanding. Any one that would have wanted to destroy a part of ChalkZone, or steal something of value or...just about anything."

Sandra leaned back against the table, so fast that her weight shifted it a little. Snap moved away, giving the dragon some room. Sandra remained in a thoughtful posture for a few moments. Her mind's gears were clearly grinding. Snap wouldn't fault her if she couldn't think of much at the moment, given what happened lately.

"Well...not really." Sandra admitted. She rubbed the back of her head, her fingers toying with her right ear. "I mean, there was one customer who was ranting and raving about a bride, but I..."

"Jacko?!" Snap cried, his body straightening up.

Sandra looked at him, wide-eyed. "Yes...do you know him?"

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah." He forgot he never told Sandra about Jacko. Then again, he had little reason to. Jacko usually didn't stray out of Night Zone, and unlike Skrawl, he usually didn't target anyone outside of Rudy and his pals. He looked at Sandra with concern. "He didn't do anything to you, right? Jacko can be...unpredictable."

"Oh really?" Sandra asked. "How so?"

"Well, one time when Rudy hurt his arm a couple years back, he joined me and Rapsheeba in this parade thing...I forget exactly what it was. But Jacko had a trap laid out for him and he forced Rudy into this death maze."

Sandra's eyes widened at this. "Was Rudy's dominant arm the one damaged?" Snap nodded his head. "And Jacko took full advantage of it?"

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah..he did. Rudy was lucky to have gotten out alive."

Snap's mind flashed back to that day. He knew something was wrong when Rudy's portal wasn't more circular. He didn't expect a perfect circle all the time. But Rudy's portal was so lopsided that he knew something was up. He was proven right when Rudy showed up with a damaged arm, held in a sling. Snap couldn't recall if it was broken or if it was just sprained. Either way, Rudy was not going ot use it anytime soon.

Snap had wanted to help Rudy and to cheer him up. So he suggested that he come with him on this parade thing, celebration of life if he remembered his own description well enough. They called it a funeral, which in ChalkZone, didn't necessarily mean death. Rapsheeba was going to do a song for them.

It seemed to be working. As he, Rudy, and Rapsheeba walked down the path towards the graveyard, Rudy appeared to be cheering up. But that all changed once Jacko showed up...

Snap could still feel the bone-chilling horror he felt when he and Rapsheeba were taken captive and were forced to watch as Rudy had to flee for his life in the maze. With that damaged arm of his, Rudy was terribly weakened and stood little chance against the zombies that were trying to destroy him. And when Jacko showed up, brandishing those claws, threatening to rip Rudy to shreds...

He gave a quick shudder, banishing those thoughts from his head. The important thing was that Rudy escaped and he was still with him, alive and well. And this time, if Jacko were to try to strike, he had three contendors to deal with. He hadn't fought against Mint before, so Jacko would be ill prepared.

"I see. That sounds terrifying." Sandra's voice pulled him out of his head. "I can safely say he didn't try any kind of stunt with me. Besides, he wouldn't have gotten too far." Sandra moved her tail forward so Snap could see the spikes on it. "One swipe of this and even the most determined will think twice before messing with me."

The superhero zoner couldn't help but shiver at the sight of the tail. The four spikes looked wickedly sharp, like her talons. He imagined they could slice through anything. One well aimed hit at the head, and the gashes Jacko would get would indeed deter him.

"I do not doubt that." Snap said simply, staring at the spikes for a few seconds. He soon managed to tear himself away from them and clear his throat. "Is that all you can tell me?"

Sandra nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be. This information could be helpful." Snap smiled at her. He quickly finished up his drink and set it back down. He licked his lips and wiped them off. "Well, I should get going. It's almost time for me to meet up with my friends." Snap got up out of his seat. "See you around!"

Sandra nodded her head, offering a smile of her own. "Good luck!" She waved her hand. "I hope you find something!"

sss

Penny held the card Snap gave her. She reread it over and over again, making sure it really did say what she thought, what Snap said it did. She felt a warm sensation in her chest, a smile ticking away at her mouth. She could understand why Snap was so excited.

Turning her attention to him, offering a big smile, she said, "Congratulations, Snap!"

"Yeah! You must be so excited!" Rudy, who stood next to Penny, agreed.

Snap smiled back at his friends. But then he started to frown a bit, lowering his head. He looked from side to side, as if worried about something, or that he thought he did something wrong. "You...guys aren't upset you can't come with?"

Rudy blinked his eyes a few times. "Why would we? We're happy for you and we think you should go."

"Yeah, I thought you would be." Snap said with a smile. "I guess when I finally came to tell you..I got a little worried."

"That's understandable. It's one thing to be certain of a reaction, but it's another to anticipate it when you make the move." Penny noticed Snap's expression and smiled nervously. "Sorry for the confusion, Snap. I..hope you understood enough of what I said to get what I'm saying."

"I...yeah I think so." Snap said quickly. Not wanting to stick to that particular subject, he said, "I admit, I was surprised when I got the invite."

Penny had to agree. It did seem rather sudden. Wouldn't it have been better to wait a little while before, just in case something big happened? One explosion in ChalkZone City was bad enough. But for another to happen...

Yeah the possibilities of that were very low. There were several cops patrolling the city right now, looking for any suspicious activity. If something was going on, they would know about it. Critical areas of ChalkZone City were now being monitored. It would be difficult for the culprit to set up another machine.

But...it was still possible.. This machine escaped any radar detection, and since it was destroyed, they had no way of replicating the signal so they knew what to look for. They were essentially blind. If the culprit managed to find a suitable spot and took the time to build another machine... She tried not to think about the possibilities.

Penny was still grateful that Sandra was holding a party to not only celebrate Snap's success in stopping the machine, but also to lighten everyone's moods. After the signal scare, they all could use some relaxation time. She was certain the zoners invited would appreciate what Sandra was doing for them. She imagined that, after the party, the zoners would be much more relaxed and at ease. She hoped that even those most affected by the horrible signal could be soothed after spending some time at the party.

"There is something I don't get..." Mint's voice tore through the room, causing everyone to look over at him. "I'm surprised none of you brought it up."

"We would explain why if you would tell us." Rudy said, cocking up an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Mint." Snap pointed a rounded hand at Mint. "What has you so concerned about Sandra's party?"

"Oh no, that's not what I meant!" Mint shook his head. He then raised his hands. "I was talking about this mystery machine."

"What about it?" Penny asked, curiosity filling her up. She could tell Rudy and Snap were interested as well. What had Mint noticed that they did not?

Mint began to explain.

"Well according to one of the cop zoners we spoke with, this signal had been around for a while. I forget how long, but definitely longer than just a few days. Zoners in general had acted weird for a length of time, in short bursts of course. If that is the case, then how come none of us were told about it before? Don't you think that is strange? If this signal wasn't new, then how come we were only told about it when we ourselves became aware? And how come Penny was only affected that one time, but the rest, she operated just fine? I don't know about you guys, but something about this doesn't feel right. I can't help but wonder if someone is hiding something from us..."

Penny felt her heart skip a beat this. She glanced over at her friends. Snap and Rudy exchanged nervous looks. They glanced over at her, their eyes silently pleading for an answer from her. But all she could do was stare at them with widened, worried eyes.

She turned away and started to think more. She allowed Mint's words to slowly sink in. She...hadn't thought of any of that before. Neither had Rudy or Snap. None of them thought of the idea something like a...a conspiracy going on...

Mint brought up a very good point. Why weren't they told of this signal before? Why did the zoners keep quiet about it? Why were none of them informed of strange behavior? Why hadn't they seen any odd behavior for themselves? It could be because the cops were wrong and the signal wasn't that old, but the other possibility was quite chilling and very plausible.

The creator of the machine was deliberately avoiding them...

Depending on how much control this person had over his or her machine, maybe they were able to target areas and zoners while she and the others were too far away to be of much help. Maybe this time around was an exception. Perhaps the owner wanted to get rid of her, or maybe they merely slipped up. Or maybe Skrawl's usage of the machine did something to it.

Penny tried to rationalize the situation. Maybe there was a good reason for the cops not to say anything. Maybe the cops were trying to get more informatoin before they said anything. Maybe they knew something about the signal and didn't want them getting hurt. Maybe...

But no matter what she tried to tell herself, something still didn't add up. Mint was right. Something was definitely wrong. The cop zoners had always told them what they could before. Why would this be any different?

"We'll figure something out." Rudy's confident voice broke through. He was standing up as straight as he could. He did his best to look confident. He looked at each of his friends, a hand tightened into a fist. "Don't worry, you guyus. We will get to the bottom of this."

"That's the spirit, Bucko!" Snap cried, raising a hand into the air. "This mystery is as good as solved!"

Penny gave a small smile at this. She was glad that Rudy could be the voice of confidence. She wasn't sure what to say herself. Her mind was so wrapped up in this new information that she found it hard to speak. If forced to ask, she feared she would say the wrong thing and make things worse.

She was confident that Rudy could figure something out. She believed in him, as did the others. If anyone could figure out what to do, Rudy would be the one.

She looked over at Mint and noticed him glaring...now, more like just frowning. It took her a few seconds to realize that he was not really angry or annoyed. Rather, he appeared concerned. As confident as he was in Rudy's abilities, there were times when Mint remained uncertain. And he was usually the most bold of them. For him to be worried...there had to be a good reason.

Crossing his arms, Mint took a couple steps towards Rudy. He held up his hand in gesture, his fingers facing towards Rudy. "What do you propose we do?"

Rudy looked over at him. "The same thing we already planned, Mint." He turned his head, looking at towards the horizon. "We go speak to some of the patients."

"Uh huh.." Mint nodded his head. "And if the cops try to stop us...?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes at Mint. "I don't think they are going to do that, Mint."

Mint shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just saying..." He let his shoulders relax, his narrowed eyes looking directly into Rudy's. "We shouldn't dismiss the possibility."

"I hate to say it.." Penny took a couple steps towards her friends. Her expression was etched in worry. "But Mint might have a good point. Maybe we should get ready just in case something like that were to happen."

"I don't know why the cops wouldn't let us speak to the patients..." Snap said. He paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Unless the patients are in no condition..."

"That is a possibility." Mint said, turning his attention to Snap. "And I'm hoping that's all it's going to be." He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "The last thing we need is a couple of zoners making things difficult for us." He sighed softly as he reopened his eyes. "It's going to make it a lot harder to find the information we want that way..."

"Don't worry, Mint." Rudy reached over and touched the older boy on the shoulder. "It will be fine. Trust me."

Mint looked at Rudy's hand, and then glanced back at the boy. Slowly, he smiled. "I hope you're right."

Rudy gave a nod to him, and then turned his head. He addressed all three of them. "Come on, we need to head to the hospital now. Hopefully we will find at least five victims willing to speak to us."

With that, the four friends headed out.

sss

"Wait, what did you kids want to do?" The receptionist asked. One of her eyes was cocked up in confusion.

Mint resisted the urge to groan. They had explained the situation at least twice with this zoner. Why wasn't she getting the point? How many times did he have to repeat himself before she got it? But despite how angry he was getting, he had to keep himself as calm as possible. If he said the wrong thing, it was going to bite them all back.

"We were wondering if we could speak to some of the patients that were affected by the signal." Mint said. He spoke as clearly as he could, taking his time forming the words without accidentally sounding as though he was mocking her. "We need to get as much information as we can to learn about this machine."

"It's really important we speak to at least a few of the patients." Penny said. She walked up to Mint, standing next to him. "If you could give us permission, and a list, to see five, just five, that would be..."

The receptionist cut her off. She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if I can allow you to do that."

"What?" Rudy's eyes widened. "Why not?"

"It's for a good cause! Don't you want the culprit to be found?" Snap asked, his voice sounding a bit edgy.

The receptionist nodded her head. "Yes, yes, of course I do... It's just that..." She paused, narrowing her eyes slightly. "I'm just not sure if it's in my jurisdiction to allow visitors to see patients they don't personally know."

"Well maybe you could list off some of the patients then?" Snap suggested.

The receptionist said, "I'm sorry...I can't do that. Confidential and all."

"Confidential?!" Mint cried, his eyes widening. "Since when?!"

"Since always." The receptionist glared in his direction. Mint felt himself freeze as they locked eyes with one another. "Standard procedure. We don't usually allow strangers in strangers' rooms, on the off chance that something could happen."

"But something could still happen anyway." Rudy pointed out. "There are people who will decieve others and strike when they are most vulnerable."

"And I was allowed to see Snap when he was hurt." Mint pointed out. "I may not have been a stranger, but..."

"Oh I remember that time..." The receptionist glared at Mint. "The only reason you were allowed in was because you were with Rapsheeba and Blocky. Had it not been for them, you would have been chased out."

Mint winced as the receptionist spoke to him in a cold voice. He gritted his teeth nervously, cringing back away a little. He glared back at her, wondering why she was speaking to him that way. It was almost as if she...

Oh wait, that's right... Mint looked at her more intently, observing her features, and soon he realized who she was. This was the same receptionist he spoke to when he came over to see Snap a few years back. She was the one who only permitted him a brief amount of time to see Snap, or else she would call security or something. It would seem she was one of the few zoners who still bore a grudge against him. He wondered if one of her family members had been harmed by him. That would explain her prolonging bitterness.

Though tempted, he decided not to engage her in any kind of debate or argument. He could defend his stance all he wanted to. He could try to tell her that he was no longer a threat. But that would only waste time, and it might aggravate her even more. Mint knew when it was time to back down.

Mint lowered his head in submission. "I understand..." He took a couple small steps back, keeping his gaze lowered so he wouldn't further provoke the female zoner.

Although the others were clearly annoyed by how the zoner was speaking to him, they also understood it was best not to argue. They stayed on the topic at hand.

"Please, you have to let us see some patients." Rudy said. "Can't you give us any information? We're ChalkZone's guardians. Doesn't that count for anything?"

The receptionist glared at the four. She lowered her gaze slightly, continuing to stare at them. She rested her arms on the table in front of her. Her hands clasped together as she leaned back. She turned her head, getting a nice, long look at them. It felt like several minutes passed by before she finally answered.

"I'm sorry, but it doesn't." At this, they widened their eyes in shock. "I'm sorry, but those are the rules. Unless you know someone who is here, I can't help you."

"But...you could at least give us a list and we can tell you who.." Penny started to say.

The receptionist shot Penny a glare. "For the last time, no!" The zoner barked, her voice laced in anger.

The four friends went silent. They stared at the zoner, not saying a word. They glanced at each other, exchanging worried and confused glances. They then looked back. Looking into the zoner's eyes, it was clear they were not going to get any more information out of her this way. They took a few steps back, noticing the zoner starting to visibly shake with a torrent of emotions.

Mint felt his own body start to shake. This wasn't like last time. He didn't need to apologize to Snap on that particular day; it could have waited if he absolutely could not see him. Snap was not going to die if he didn't apologize that very day.

But this.. It was more serious than that. Several more zoners could be affected, and many zoners could be in danger of being hurt. They had no idea what this machine was going to be used for, if there were going to be casualties or not. He understood if the patients themselves would have a hard time speaking of their experience. But this zoner... How dare she try to complicate things... She knew what was going on, and yet she was still preventing them from getting the information that could save lives.

Although he usually knew when the back down, and he did his best to avoid fights, he felt his more assertive side take over. He was not about to sit around, allowing this zoner to stop them from talking with the patients. He knew Rudy and Penny, as well as Snap, would not do anything aggressive to get the zoner to talk. It was not in his nature.

But he was different.

Mint narrowed his eyes further. He could see that his friends were looking at him in confusion. They spoke up to him, trying to get his attention, but he ignored them. He marched over to the desk, staring at the receptionist in the eyes. She bared her teeth and moved back a little, looking almost fearful as he approached.

Suddenly, Mint slammed his hands against the glass, the sound reverberating through the air. He heard his friends call out his name, but his attention was solely on the zoner before him. Baring his teeth, he spoke in a low voice.

"Listen here! There's a mysterious zoner going around, building mysterious machines and we have no idea what they are going to do! Zoners, and electronic equipment, have been afflicted with this strange signal and have been acting strange, but do you realize that it could get worse?! This crazy zoner could be plotting to do a lot of harm, and they may go much further than just making some zoners feel strange!"

The receptionist's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. This expression only lasted a short time before she narrowed her eyes again and tried to speak.

But Mint cut he roff. "With how widespread the signal could be, that means that this hospital could soon be crammed full of injured patients! And that's if we're lucky! What if they could do much worse? What if it's like a disease and it spreads?! Do you really want to have something like that on your hands?!" Mint took in a few breaths, trying to calm himself down. But he found it difficult. Clenching his teeth tightly, he practically glared into the zoner's soul and spoke with his voice seeping between the gaps of his teeth. "Don't you care...?"

"Mint! Stop!"

Mint jolted himself out of his trance when he felt a pair of hands grab him by his shoulders. He shook his head and looked behind him. He could see Rudy standing there, looking at him with a stern expression.

"Stop it! You're going to make things worse!" Rudy said to him as he pulled Mint away from the receptionist. As soon as Mint was far enough away, Rudy looked over at the receptionist, giving her an apologetic look. "I apologize for Mint. He usually has a better control over himself than this..."

Mint winced as Rudy looked over and glared at him. He lowered his head, feeling ashamed of himself.

The receptionist cocked an eyebrow. "Uh huh...sure..." Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. The receptionist turned her swivel chair away and she got up from her seat. She was silent for a few moments. Then, giving them a sideways glance, she said, "...wait right here..."

The four watched in confusion as the receptionist walked away. They glanced at each other. They wondered what she was going to do.

sss

The friends walked down the hallway. They took care to look at the numbers hanging from above the rooms. They passed by several rooms, looking for one in particular. It took them a while, but they soon found the room they were looking for.

D108.

They stopped immediately and looked at the door. It was closed, probably because the patient wanted some alone time. Or maybe they were sleeping. They weren't sure. They weren't informed of that detail. But regardless, they knew they had to speak to the patient. If they didn't do this now, who knows if they would get a second chance?

"This is Ronald's room?" Mint asked in a soft voice, looking up and down. "Is this accurate?"

"Of course it is, Mint." Penny said. She looked at the piece of paper the receptionist gave them. "This is what she had written down, and see..." As Mint came closer to have a look, Penny pressed a finger against one part of the list. "She had the names listed down next to the room numbers."

Mint narrowed his eyes as he looked at the paper. He then nodded his head slowly and took a step back. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry about that."

Rudy stared off in Mint's direction. He was still a bit upset with him for nearly losing his temper with the female zoner earlier. He could have easily made things so much worse. The zoner could have called security on them, and then they would have had a heck of a time trying to get back in.

But at the same time, he was also grateful. As much as he didn't like Mint's yelling, this time around, it did give them some results. Something Mint told her had gotten through to her, and she finally agreed to help them. It seemed unwilling and she spoke to them begrudgingly. But at least she was helping and not putting up a fuss like before. She gave them a list of zoners they could speak to and told them to hurry it up and get it done with.

Rudy did his best to ignore the zoner's attitude. Now wasn't the time to be concerned with how one disgrunted zoner was behaving. He needed to remain focused on speaking with these zoners so they could try to stop this machine. If the receptionist wanted to keep bearing a grudge against Mint, that was on her.

Looking over at his friends, Rudy said, "Well? Shall we go in?"

The others gave a nod. Penny moved towards the door. They waited, watching as Penny raised up her hand and began to knock on the door. Seconds later, they heard a gruff voice speak from the other side.

"Who is there?"

The friends looked at each other. The voice sounded a little annoyed. They couldn't tell if Ronald really was annoyed or if that was just the way he spoke. After they didn't say anything after several seconds, the gruff voice came again, this time with more force, and a more definite underlining annoyance to it.

"I said who is there? Come on, I know someone knocked on my door!"

"Wow.." Snap said, folding his arms. "He sounds like a cheerful fellow."

"Oh he's probably just angry he has to be here. Not everyone enjoys being in the hospital for long." Penny said.

"Yeah well he could stand a few breathing exercises." Snap mumbled softly.

Not wanting to keep Ronald waiting for much longer, Rudy turned his friends and made a gesture with his head. "Come on. Let's go in now."

Penny, who was closest to the door still, reached over and turned the door knob. With the door now opened for them, the four walked into the hospital room slowly. They looked left and right, and it took them seconds to realize this was a one patient room.

The hospital room wasn't too large. It had a single bed in the middle of the room, the headboard pressed up against the wall. There was a single window, the curtains closed, giving the room a darkened appearance. Only some sliver of light could come through as the curtains weren't pulled down all the way.

The zoner himself, Ronald, was laying on his bed. He appeared to be a humanoid zoner, wearing overalls and had a thick beard. He didn't appear injured, but the IVs hooked up to his body suggested otherwise. And who knows what internal injuries he might have? They don't know this zoner's history. There were several possibilities.

Ronald was glaring in their direction. His deep reddish brown eyes seemed to almost bore through their souls, freezing them in place after they took a few steps into the room.

"Shut the door!" Ronald wailed, his eyes squinting. "The light!"

Rudy turned around and immediately shut the door. "There.." He looked back at the zoner. "Is that better?"

Ronald chewed on his lip for a second. "Yes. Thanks."

Rudy could tell from the zoner's tone that he was not at all that thankful. But he didn't want to aggravate the situation further. And he also didn't want to spend a lot of time with this zoner. It was clear that Ronald could easily escalate things. So he got right to the situation at hand.

"Ronald, sometime ago, there was a signal being sent off across ChalkZone City. We were informed that you were one of the several zoners affected by it." Rudy said. He took a few steps forward, putting himself in front of his friends. "Do you mind telling us how this was afflicting you?"

Ronald tilted his head to one side, and then to the other. "Why do you want to know that?"

"We need the information so we can determine how to stop this from happening again." Rudy explained.

"Hmm...I see..." Ronald stared at the four before leaning back, pressing the back of his head against his pillow. "So..how does that affect me? Why should I bother giving you anything?"

Rudy clenched his teeth, fighting against the anger that started to rise up inside of him. "Because other zoners could be affected..and so could you. Do you want to potentially be hurt? We don't know what this zoner plans on using the signal for. For all we know..." Rudy spread his arms out. "This mystery zoner could be planning to bomb this place!"

Snap nodded his head. "Anything you can tell us would be a help."

"Please, you have to be able to tell us something." Penny said, stepping forward. "Anything at all would be a great help."

"I don't see why I should tell you anything." Ronald said, a smirk spread across his face. "It's none of my business, and it's not really any of yours." He folded his arms against his chest. "Let the other zoners fend for themselves, I say. Why bother to help anyone?"

At this, Rudy and his friends were stunned. They couldn't believe just how cold this zoner was acting. How could he be this callous? Was he really that uncaring about the harm that could be brought to other zoners? Did he really not care that he himself could be afflicted again? How could he just sit there and pretend like it's not a problem he had to deal with? How...?

Rudy tried his best not to lose his temper with the zoner. Even though he could feel the anger rising up inside of him, he knew that any outburst could and would make things a lot worse. He did not want t fall into the trap that Mint nearly did earlier. There had to be a way to get this zoner to talk. There just had to. Everyone had their trigger point that got them to speak. He just had to find Ronald's.

"Please, Ronald. There has to be...something we can do to convince you to tell us." Penny pleaded with the zoner. "We could really use the information. Please you have to tell us!"

"This is important! You can't just turn your back on us!" Mint cried. He moved closer, forming a fist with his hands, shaking them. "Do you realize just how important this is?!"

"I don't see why it's a concern for you." Ronald said coldly. "Not like anybody was getting hurt." He placed a finger against his head, giving something of a crazy smile. "No pain, just a weird sensation. How is that an emergency?"

"Because it could get worse!" Rudy said, speaking louder than he had intended. The others looked at him worriedly as Rudy glared at the zoner. He took in a few breaths, and he soon managed to slow down his breathing and heart rate. "Look, the sooner you tell us, the sooner we will leave you alone."

Ronald paused at this. "Let me get this straight. If I tell you..." He put a hand against his chest, and then pointed over towards Rudy. "..what you want to know, then you'd leave me alone so I can get back to sleep?"

Rudy nodded his head. "Yes."

Ronald thought for a moment, scratching hs chin thoughtfully. Then he nodded his head once. "Okay then. I'll tell you what I know."

Rudy was glad that the zoner was finally listening to them. Even though it was a less than ideal reason, just wanting to get back to sleep, at least he was going to tell them now. He and his friends watched the zoner intently, giving him the time he needed to gather the information in his head so he could relay it to them.

Ronald began to explain. "I don't know if it was the same for everyone, but for me, this signal you talked about, it felt like someone was tugging at the back of my mind. It was spreading from the base of my skull and radiated over." He used his hand to make an approximate movement, simulating the effect. "During this state, I felt a little..different. Like, I was thinking like I used to."

"Care to elaborate?" Rudy asked.

"Well for one thing, I was restless. I was exhausted and sleepy, yet I couldn't close my eyes. I tried as hard as I could, but I just couldn't fall asleep. It felt as though..I wanted to get up.." Ronald raised his hands up, spreading them out. "..and just..walk away. My legs were awake, and it felt literal at times. They would move on their own, wanting to get a move on." He paused for a moment. He bit his lip, looking from side to side. "That was the least of my problems. The signal seemed to be...blocking something in me. I found it hard to think too much, to make decisions, to react. It was..weird."

"Sounds terrifying." Penny flinched as she listened to what the zoner was saying. "I mean..not being able to think..."

"I could still think. Just..not with as much clarity. I would try to, but my head would hurt, and I'd find myself unable to produce a thought." Ronald explained. "It was as if a part of my mind was being switched off."

This statement caused cold chills to go up everyone's spines. A signal that shut off parts of the brain? The chilling idea had so many possibilities. The friends looked at each other, realizing even more just how terrifying and serious this situation was.

Ronald continued, "I also began, for a short time, viewing things a little different. I'm not sure how well I can explain... It was like..." His voice trailed off.

Penny spoke up. "It was like you changed your mind?"

"Yes..something like that." Ronald nodded his head. "How did you know?"

"Because, for some unknown reason, the signal was affecting me." Penny place a hand against herself. "It made me start doubting Snap's abilities for a brief moment. It took me a little bit to overcome it."

At this, Ronald frowned. "Then why did you need to speak to me?"

"We need information from as many people affected by it as possible." Rudy explained. "We need an average judgment and we cannnot do that with just one person."

Snap said, "Getting information from multiple sources will better help us find a way to stop this machine's owners."

Ronald narrowed his eyes at ths. After a few seconds, he said, "I see..." He leaned away from them, laying himself back down. "Well I told you all I knew anyway." He gave them a one-eyed glare. "Now get out of here so I can return to sleep."

"As you wish." Mint said as he headed towards the door. He opened it up and walked out of it.

Snap and Penny followed Mint. Rudy remained in the room a little longer. He glared at the zoner. He still found it hard to believe that the zoner didn't care about anyone but himself. He wanted so badly to chew the zoner out for his rotten behavior. But he held himself back. They got the information they came for, and they would never have to bother this zoner again. They were done here.

"Thanks for the information." Rudy did his best to sound as honest as he could. "We're leaving now. Goodbye."

"Yeah whatever..." The zoner plopped onto his side. He turned his back to Rudy and pulled the covers over his body. "Get out."

Rudy growled at this, but did as the zoner told him to. The twelve year old stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him. He and his friends walked down the hallway, towards the next room they had to visit.

"What a grouch..." Snap commented softly.

"Yeah, you're telling me." Mint agreed. "He had a bit of a attitude problem."

"He's probably just frustrated." Penny said, trying to be the voice of reason. "Being in the hospital can be a scary experience. Some people can get grouchy from laying around all that time."

"I was in the hospital for several months," Mint said, pointing his thumb against himself. "And I didn't bark at everyone who came close to me."

"Yeah and I was in the hospital for a year, and I didn't develop behavioral issues like that guy." Snap said.

"You know what I mean..." Penny started to say.

"Look, let's just drop it okay?" Rudy spoke up, loud enough for them to hear. The others fell silent and looked at him. "Let's not waste anymore time thinking about that guy. We got the information out of him, so let's just move on."

"Yeah..you're right." Mint said, nodding his head. He slumped his shoulders. "It is a waste of time.." Straightening himself up, he asked, "So who is next?"

Penny looked back at the list. "D128. Erma."

"Hopefully she can provide some clues on how to find this mystery zoner." Snap said.

The others nodded, sharing the zoner's sentiment. Without another word, the four friends headed down the hallway.

sss

"Well that was kind of a waste of time." Mint mumbled softly. "They all said pretty much the same thing."

"Well there were some variants..." Snap pointed out. Upon seeing Mint's expression, the zoner pulled his hand back and nodded. "But yeah, it was mostly repeat of the same stuff."

"Well that's good, isn't it? At least we know a pattern. And that's what we were hoping to find, right?" Penny said.

"True, Penny. But none of what the zoners said helps us figure out what this owner wants with them. We need more in depth information." Rudy said.

Penny nodded her head. She understood where the other were coming from. She did think that what the zoners said was going to be helpful, but she could see why the others didn't think it was that helpful. They did understand a little bit of how the beam worked, but the others were right. The information they got didn't really lead them much anywhere to a possible culprit.

There was Jacko that Snap mentioned earlier. But she had her doubts that he was involved in this. Jacko didn't seem like the kind of zoner to do something like this. She understood if Snap remained suspicious of him. But Penny was going to give Jacko the benefit of the doubt.

Other than Jacko, they had no possible suspects. The only other ones, Skrawl and Craniac 4, were highly unlikey to be the cause. Skrawl was arrested, at least for now. And if he was building such a device, he would make it affect all zoners, not just a small handful. He also wouldn't be subtle about it; he'd let everyone know he had it.

And Craniac 4... He hardly even left Future Dome, and he usually didn't target ChalkZone as a whole. It was only when he worked in tangent with Skrawl that he had a mindset even close to that. He mostly just wanted the magic chalk, which he still couldn't grasp he couldn't use himself. He probably still thinks that Rudy was holding back on him. Penny shook her head at this. Well some zoners couldn't be helped.

It was a shame that the interview with the five zoners didn't turn out quite like they had planned. They were still left relatively clueless on the situation. They didn't know anyone who would target random zoners and induce similar behavioral patterns. They had hoped that one of the zoners would give them that vital clue they needed to at least narrow it down.

Well there was someone else they could ask. Before they left, Penny suggested they talk to one other person. Not a patient, but instead someone else who might be able to get them more information.

It didn't take them long to find him.

"Hey, sir?" Penny called out, raising up her hand. The others looked at her, wondering who she was talking to. They turned their heads and, out of the corner of her eyes, she could see their eyes widen in realization. "May we speak to you?"

After some walking, the four friends had come face to face with one of the electrician zoners walking through the hallway. In his hand, he clutched what Penny believed to be a box filled with his tools. Upon seeing Penny, the zoner stopped walking and waved at her.

"Hello. How may I help you?" The electrician asked.

Penny took a few steps towards the zoner. "Please, can you tell us how the electricity here had been behaving with the signal?"

The electrician tilted his head in confusion. "Any reason you want to know?"

"We are trying to stop it from happening again." Mint said, chiming in before Penny could speak up again. "It is important that we learn as much as we can. We are hoping that you can provide some kind of clue for us."

"So what do you say? Do you have any information you feel we should know?" Snap asked, holding up his hand in gesture.

Unlike Ronald, this zoner appeared to be more cooperative. Penny was relieved by this. It was difficult speaking to Ronald. That oner had such a bad attitude. But this electrician, even his posture was friendlier than Ronald's, and it didn't seem to take as much pressuring to get him to speak.

The four of them waited patiently for the electrician to respond. Considering how challenging electricity could be, they understood if it took a while for the zoner to put everything to words. They remained quiet, giving him all the time he needed ot think of a response.

The electrician rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "For the most part, it was working fine. But..."

"But..?" Snap asked, his tone wary.

"Well..you see... the signal was causing some disruptions and anomalies in the systems. Certain lights wouldn't work. Some hospital equipment was being read wrong. Some machines didn't function properly." The electrician explained. He could see the looks of horrors in their eyes and he nodded sympathetically. "It was not a pleasant experience. We couldn't even fix the problems. It was like the electricity was obeying some other force. Even parts of the security systems weren't working, and those have passwords to them."

At this, the friends shivered, chills going up and down their spines. They didn't like where this was going. This implication...it was horrifying. The idea of someone being able to hack into a system, bypassing passwords completely... It was an unnerving feeling. If this zoner could break into a hospital security system...what else could they break into?

Messing with the machines was another great concern. This zoner could easily cause the deaths of countless patients by having the doctors misread their own machines. A zoner could get too much or too little medicine for one thing, and that was just one of the many possibilities. What about when a zoner is wheeled in for surgery? Or when they have to read things like MRI scans and x-rays? There was so much potential for disaster...

The electrician continued, "What I find strange is that not all the hospital was afflicted." He narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Only certain parts were at a time. It was always random, too...mostly. Usually only areas with patients were involved, but sometimes other areas were affected."

This did little to comfort the four friends. It made their anxiety rise. This caused a horrible thought to run through their heads: this zoner was a serial killer and this signal was merely a warm up to what he was capable of.

If that were the case, Penny knew they had little time to act. The culprit was probably remaking their machine right now, and who knows if it will still be the nonlethal variant or if they were going to go straight for the kill? Penny couldn't stop the shivers from moving through her body. If they didn't figure this out soon...

...then who knows just how widespread the damage will become?

The electrician cleared his throat, getting the nervous children to look at him. "I don't think you have too much to worry about, though. The machine was stopped. The equipment is all functioning normally now. Everything is fine." He smiled the best he could, but it was clear he was still nervous about the situation. "E-Everything will be okay...I'm sure."

But Penny knew everything was not fine. She glanced at Rudy, Mint, and Snap. They were looking at the electrician nervously, staring at each other, and her, anxiously. Worry and dread plastered over all their faces as they let this information really sink in. Their hearts clenched, a burning sensation developing in their stomachs.

The machine's capabilities...they already had an idea before, but it was only after coming here and speaking to some zoners that they got a true idea of just what this machine was truly capable of. A worrying implication, a horrific image, was painted in their heads. If this zoner meant real harm, then with this machine, they would be able to cause unspeakable damage.

And what was even more terrifying...they still had no idea who the owner was. Nothing they were told helped them. There was a low percentage of truly evil zoners; most of them were at worse jerks, but not the type they would expect to make a scheme like this. It was clear this was not the work of someone like Butch or Bullynerd. No, this was the work of a zoner with cruel intentions. If only certain parts of the hospital were affected, concentrated on security and patient equipment...

Then this was a deliberate act. Someone was doing this on purpose. Someone meant these zoners real harm. And none of them knew where to start. Without any information, any leads, they were still stuck at square one. They needed someway to figure out how to narrow the possibilities and fast.

This culprit had to be stopped. Penny knew they had to find a way to locate this owner and stop him or her before they strike again. She had no idea how much time they had left, when the culprit would strike again. But she knew...they all knew...this culprit had to be brought to justice. They had to find out who was doing this, and fast.


	5. At The Party

Life is so sure! Life will be ready to twist up your world!

-To The Edge, Lacuna Coil

sss

Mint laid down on the ground, his arms bent up towards his head, the back of it resting on the limbs. He looked up towards the ceiling, taking in a deep breath. He let the recent events unfold through his head as he tried to sort them out. To think, after all that has happened, they were not even a step closer to solving this mystery.

They had spoken to a few patients, including some extra ones after talking to a couple electricians. The patients they interviewed always gave similar answers. Sure there were variations, depending on their personality, where they were, among those things, but what they were told just wasn't enough to pinpoint anything. All it told them for certain was that the targets were indeed random, as the patients, other than their experience, shared little in common with what happened with them.

One had a head injury, one had some burns on her body, one had a broken arm, one had to get surgery to remove his appendix, just to name a few. Each ailment was different, not relating to the other ones. And severity of the wounds varied. Some were more severe than others.

This made it harder to pinpoint the victm target, who the culprit was after. They had hoped that they could find a way to de-randomize the targets so they could find common ground. It was through common ground they could figure something out, a way to find out who the culprit is and stop them at all costs.

When the patients didn't help, they talked to more electricians. They pretty much gave the same story as the first electrician they ran into. All systems were a go, and there weren't any signs of trouble. The electricians assured them that everything was fine and that they should relax.

But Mint couldn't relax, and he knew the others would not be able to either. How could they when there was a madman on the loose? Sure no one died...yet. Who knows how long it'll be before the culprit took the next step?

The best thing to do was try to find as much information as possible. That was the only plan they had. That was all they could do. Until they find something useful that can aid them in reducing the number of possible suspects, the only thing they were capable of doing was looking for information. Perhaps they could start talking with some zoners off the streets or something. Maybe a civilian can be more helpful.

He glanced over at Snap. Seeing the zoner reminded him that he wasn't back in his own room yet. He and the others went back to Snap's treehouse after all that time trying to find information. Everyone looked mentally exhausted, resting against whatever they could, their eyes partially closed. The only thing keeping them from falling asleep was the knowledge that they had to be back home soon. It was still early morning and if they weren't back soon, their parents would realize they were missing.

Mint continued to look up towards the ceiling of Snap's treehouse. He took in another deep breath, letting out a long, low sigh. He tried to think of what they could do. He didn't want to leave. He wanted to try something else. But if he didn't even know what that something was...what good was it going to do?

"Don't worry guys..." Snap said, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. He smiled at them the best he could. But anyone who paid close enough attention could tell that the smile was faltering. "We'll think of...we'll think of something."

"Thanks for trying to look on the bright side, Snap..." Rudy was sitting up, his elbows supporting him as he leaned forward. His head rested in the palms of his hands. "But we've talked to so many people..and none of them could..."

"Maybe we just need to try more? There were many zoners afflicted, Bucko. Maybe if we ask enough, we will be able to..."

Rudy shook his head. He looked over at Snap, giving him a soft glare. That was enough to silence Snap. "Somehow, I doubt that, Snap. We talked to enough that, if any of them had any information we could use, we would have known by now. And besides..." He looked away. "Even if ther was such a zoner, it would take us a long time to find him or her. By that time, who knows what the culprit would have done."

"I understand what you are saying, Rudy. We have no idea what this villain is like, what they want, or anything. We don't even know when they will strike again. It could be when we least expect it, and this time, there could be casualties." Penny's voice was soft and soothing. Even when she was uncertain, she tried to speak in a voice to keep everyone calm. "But...I think Snap is right. We could just keep trying to speak to the patients. Who knows? One of them might hold the information that we need to.."

Mint decided to speak up now. "We can talk to civilians, too." The others went quiet and looked over at him. Mint froze for a second as he felt all eyes on him. He hadn't thought of how he was going to word this. Licking his lips, he said, "I mean...some of them might have seen something strange, right? And weren't some civilians also affected by the machine?"

Snap rubbed his chin. His eyes widened. "Oh yeah I believe so! The officers mentioned it before, I believe."

The mention of the officers did make Mint a little angry. He was still a little peeved that they had hidden the signal from them. He wasn't sure just how they would've benefited from that. How was that going to help anyone? If they had known earlier, they could have...

Well there was nothing they could do about it now. At least they were finally made aware of the situation. And there were no cops trying to stop them in the hospital. Mint hoped the reason was because the cops realized that they needed whatever information they could find, and not because they were busy or something.

"Asking the civilians does sound like a good idea." Penny said. She raised up her hand, the palm facing upwards. "It would be easier getting to them than the patients."

"Yeah, that's for sure." Rudy said, giving a small, somewhat bitter smile. "I'm not sure if I want to deal with that receptionist again."

The others nodded in agreement. None of them were particularly fond of how she acted towards them. Mint was especially uncomfortable around her. She had treated him the worst of them because she still held a grudge against them. If it was at all possible to avoid her, he'd take it. He knew the others felt the same way. When trying to find information as quickly as possible, it was often best to avoid the aggressive zoners who would not cooperate.

"Maybe the machine affected civilians in a different way." Mint suggested, the idea just coming to him. Rudy, Penny, and Snap looked at him in confusion. Mint continued, hoping that he could help them understand the best he could. "The other zoners were in the hospital, right? Maybe the signal intermixed with both them and the security, producing a different result. The civilian zoners wouldn't have this problem..."

"..except if it was something like a bank or inside a building with a security system." Penny pointed out.

Mint's eyes widened for a few seconds. "Oh yeah..." He lowered his head. He couldn't believe he didn't think of that. "Well nevermind that then."

"I still think you made a good point, though." Penny said. Mint looked over at her. She continued, "We might indeed get different results. The other zoners were injured, but how does the beam afflict zoners who weren't injured prior? Maybe they got different experiences, and maybe.." She went silent, her voice trailing off. She looked at each of ther friends, letting the information sink in.

Rudy was the first one to respond. "That might work." He sounded more confident than he did before. It was clear that Rudy was becoming more hopeful of the situation. His eyes brightened up a little. "Maybe at least one of those zoners could reveal who the culprit is. Someone had to see a zoner sneaking around...right?"

Everyone nodded at this. No one dared to disagree. Why would they? They all knew it was true. Zoners were quite an observant species, a fact that they all learned at some point. A random even occuring in ChalkZone had little chance of escaping at least one zoner's eyes. In more secluded areas, like the temple where Mint nearly released those minerbites or whatever they were called, it was plausible to do something and escape detection if the zoner was careful. But in a more populated area like ChalkZone City? That was nearly impossible. Someone would have seen something, even some minor detail.

And that minor detail may be all they needed to locate this zoner and bring them to justice before more damage could be dealt.

"Wait! I just thought of something!" Snap cried, jumping up and down excitedly, waving his arms around. "Why don't we ask Biclops?"

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other as Mint offered a reply. "Biclops? Do you think we would know anything about this?"

"Well..maybe." Snap calmed himself down. He raised up a round hand in gesture. "But he might know something. He keeps an eye on things around ChalkZone. He might have seen something that could help us." He tilted his head and tapped against the side of it with his hand. "Plus, he can record a lot of data in that noggin of his! What he says, he can share with us!"

At this, the others began to smile. Things were starting to look up...a little at least. It was certainly better than how the situation looked just a little while ago. Snap's idea just might work.

"We can talk to Biclops after we get back." Rudy said. His voice, though hopeful, was stern, as if he wanted to keep a realistic spin on everything. "We won't be able to see him right now. There isn't enough time to get to the Chalk Mine and back in time. We need to head back into the Real World before our families realize we are missing."

Penny nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. Plus, isn't today when Biclops does some of his exercises? I don't think he'd appreciate us interrupting him."

"Oh pee shaw!" Snap made a quick motion with his hand. "I don't think you have any thing to worry about." He raised his shoulders in a sort of half shrug. "Biclops wouldn't bite your heads off if you showed up while he was doing some treadmill stuff."

Mint smirked in Snap's direction. "Just like he didn't mind it when you installed those traps in his mind while he was away?"

Snap shot Mint a glare. "That has nothing to do with this!"

Mint couldn't help but chuckle, his hand against his mouth. He could still remember the story in detail. It had been sometime before he found ChalkZone. Snap had been left in charge of watching the mine, and he wound up setting up some traps there that resulted in Biclops hanging from the ceiling. Snap got caught in one of his own traps as well. They had hung there for a couple hours before someone found them.

Although he knew the situation wasn't really that funny at the time, in retrospect, it was hilarious. At least to him. The idea of Snap setting up traps quickly and efficiently amused him, and it made him wonder why the zoner had never tried that back when he thought ChalkZone was just a game. If the traps caught a gigantic zoner like Biclops, they would have caught him, too, and Ripclaw.

Upon seeing how the others were glaring at him, Mint did his best to stop laughing. His chortles soon vanished, though he let a couple more out just get it out of his system. As soon as he settled down, he cleared his throat and lowered his head slightly.

"Sorry about that." He waved a hand in Snap's direction. "As you were..."

Snap glared at Mint for a few seconds before he turned away. "Yeah, well then..." He cleared his throat. "Now as I was saying, I don't think Biclops would mind it if we interrupted his exercise routine if it was something important. We can just walk right in and talk to him."

"That could be. Biclops is usually a reasonable guy." Rudy nodded his head. "But...we still don't have time for that."

Snap nodded his head, realizing what time it was himself. "Yeah I agree. Too risky right now." He looked left and right, his expression showing off nervousness. "Who knows what would happen if your folks realize you're gone and they start to investigate..."

"That's always been a concern of mine." Mint confessed. He placed a hand against his chest. "My dad is the type of person who wouldn't give up until he found something. If he found I was missing, even if I came back, he'd want to know where I disappeared to, and it's not easy lying to him when he's in that kind of mood." He clenched his teeth, fearful thoughts moving through his head. "He would probably destroy this place if he found out it existed..."

Silence fell upon the room at this statement. Suddenly the air around them felt so cold and chilly. They glanced nervously at each other, not saying a word. Their expressions were good enough to let each other know what they were thinking.

The idea of something like that happening...it was terrifying. Mint knew he spoke the truth. His dad was quite upset when he lost his leg and tried to find out himself what happened. They were lucky he never got anywhere near enough to expose ChalkZone. He doesn't even know it exists. But ever since then, his dad was much more hyperaware of him, and if the slightest thing went wrong, he was going to do something about it. If he came home late, and his dad sees he's not in his room, he was going to think the worst.

His dad might not be the richest guy in town, but he had money. More than Rudy's family, and probably more than Penny's mom. He had enough money to spend on his own search parties and investigations. The chances of him finding an active portal now were low, but what if his dad finds something else? Like, what if he connected his disappearance to Rudy and Penny?

Despite what his friends might think, his dad wouldn't stop at just forbiding him from seeing them. He would go as far as have them arrested. Mint didn't want that to happen. He never brought this up with them because he thought it wouldn't be a problem. But looking back, perhaps he should have done so earlier.

"I know my mom wouldn't give up until she found me." Penny said quietly, breaking the silence. "She would get a search party and try to find me."

Rudy nodded. He leaned back, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well we'll just have to make sure we leave in a few minutes." He turned and faced his friends. "When we come back later this afternoon or evening, we'll come back and talk to the civilians about the signal. Sound like a plan?"

The others nodded their heads affirmatively.

"Hopefully they can shed more light on the signal. It's still really creepy...the way it affects electronics and...and minds like that.." Peny shuddered, holding her arms against herself. "Gives me the creeps just thinking about it."

Snap shivered, fright registering in her eyes. "I hope it doesn't affect me." He grabbed onto his head. "I don't want someone to hack into my mind and change the way I think."

"No one does, Snap." Penny looked at him sympathetically. "My mom told me once that loss of self is often one of the most terrifying things." She looked away. "I can understand where she's coming from. It's basically like dying..only you're still there, but you are no longer you."

Another moment of silence. The four friends looked towards the ground, each lost in their own thoughts. Mint felt a cold chill up his spine. He couldn't imagine what it was like to lose who he was. The very thought of something happening, and he became a different person...it was scary. Even more scary if someone could do it at a push of a button, like this unknown villain could.

But as scary as it was for him, he imagine it was more terrifying for the zoners. They were the ones most at risk. This villain was after multiple zoners for unknown reasons. At any point, any of them, including Snap, could become a victim of the signal. And who knows how far the culprit will go next time? Would they take it a step further, and try to kill the zoners? Would they try to capture them? The possibilities swam through his head, making it ache.

For now, there was nothing they could do. They had little time and they had to get going. They can come back later and do what they could. They would do the best they could. He just hoped that it was good enough.

"Well I think we better get going." Rudy said. "It's getting late and my mom will be checking my room at any time now."

"Yeah." Penny nodded. "Same here."

Snap looked down at the invitation sitting next to him. He stared at it for a few moments before looking back at his friends. "I need to get ready for this party as well."

"But it's in the afternoon." Mint said, tilting his head in confusion.

"You have plenty of time." Penny said with a smile. "I don't think it takes you several hours to get ready."

Snap replied, "I just want to be ready as soon as possible. Sandra never invited me to anything before, and it is in my honor." He took a stance, placing his hand against his upper chest. "The guest of honor can't show up looking like a mess, now can he?" He flashed a big grin. "Their star needs to be squeaky clean!"

Mint chuckled softly at this. It was certainly nice the mood was starting to lighten up a little bit. He decided to help that along. "Yes, of course he does." He walked over towards Snap slowly. He stared intently at him. The zoner looked up at him in confusion. "He wouldn't want to show up looking like a big mess, now would he?"

Before Snap could react or ask what he meant, Mint lunged forward and pinned the zoner on the ground. He gave him a mischevious smile and began to tickle him. The zoner immmediately erupted into laughter, tossing and turning on the ground as Mint continued his assault.

"Hey! Stop it!" Snap said, loud laughs emitting from his mouth. "Back off!"

"Not until you say uncle!" Mint said, his fingers moving along Snap's side and stomach as he tickled him.

All of a sudden, Mint felt a weight on top of him. He was torn from Snap and pushed into the ground on his stomach. He let out a soft groan. He felt his arm being pulled back behind him and held there securely. He looked up with a wide eye and saw Rudy glaring down at him.

At this sight, Mint bit hs lip. Had he accidentally angered Rudy? He didn't mean to. He was just having a little bit of fun.

"Rudy, I'm sor..."

He didn't get a chance to finish when Rudy started to tickle him. Mint's eyes widened and, unable to stop himself, he began to laugh loudly. He squirmed on the ground as Rudy held him down. The boy's fingers targeted his sides, causing Mint to curve his body in that direction, trying to get away from the tickling.

"S-Stop! Please!" Mint cried as tears began to form in his eyes, a wide girn spread across his face.

"Oh you aren't getting away!" This time, it was Penny's voice. As Mint struggled, he felt additional weight, and he soon felt Penny start to tickle him. "You're mine!"

The treehouse filled with the laughter of the children as they wrestled and played with one another.

sss

"Okay! Bye!" Snap said, waving to his friends.

"See you later!" Mint shouted.

"Enjoy the party!" Penny said.

Rudy nodded. "We will be back soon!"

With that, the three humans disappeared into the horizon. Snap watched them as they left, a smile on his face. It was only when they were completely gone that he went back into his tree house, shutting the door behind him.

He felt better than he had been since he found out about that dreaded machine. He shuddered as he remembered how close he was to getting badly hurt by it. He had some mild burns, but he hardly felt them now thanks to the medication he was given. He had escaped mostly unscathed, at least physically. But mentally, that was a different story. It's hard to explain what it's like being that close to a loud explosion until it actually happens. He could feel the heat of the flames as he ran. If he had tripped and fallen...

He did his best to cast his fear aside. He took in a deep breath, managing to quickly return to the calm he had been in for the past several minutes. Mint's tickle attack was sudden and unexpected. But it was appreciated. It did help them to lift up their moods. They didn't forget the seriousness of the situation, but it would do them no good to be in a gloomy mood the whole time.

Snap turned around and looked at his now empty tree house. He glanced over at the television set and walked over. He rested himself on his bean bag chair. Penny was right. Sandra's party didn't start for a while. He had a lot of time to get ready. He had enough time to watch at least one movie. That would further help him take his mind off of what has been going on.

As he turned on the television and began to flip through the channels, he started thinking about this party and Sandra. He wondered if Blocky and Rapsheeba got an invite. He hadn't been able to talk to them yet today. But he was certain they were going to be there. Sandra wouldn't forget them, right?

He hoped Sandra would be in a better mood later today. Maybe the party will work its wonders and she'd feel so much better. He would like to see her happy again. She was usually such a friendly, approachable zoner. If she kept up her attitude, she might accidentally drive away her customers. It wouldn't be easy getting them back.

Sandra would definitely feel better once they caught the culprit and got him or her arrested. When that happened, Sandra's mind would be put at ease, and she could carry on in her restaurant without fear of some random explosion tearing through her place, or the signal disrupting her or her customers.

Yeah, she'd definitely feel a lot better knowing that she was safe. And Snap would make sure she felt that way. He considered her a friend, and friends help each other, right?

Snap soon found a movie. A comedy one this time. He wasn't in the mood for another horror. Not after what happened today. He leaned back in his beanbag chair, getting himself as comfortable as possible. He folded his arms behind his head, and let out a soft sigh. The glow of the television partially illuminated his face and the movie began.

sss

Sandra looked left and right, taking in the details of the building. Yes, this would do quite nicely. She knew she made the right choice in Shrapnel Tower. The building was perfect. It was in the right location, in town but still at the edge of town. This would help her focus her plans more yet still garner the attention she wanted. The building appeared small but it was still quite roomy inside. And it had a lot of hidden passageways and rooms.

Yes..this building would do just fine..

Sandra still had some hours left to get this place ready. She hadn't yet invited anyone else here. It had just been Snap. But that didn't mean it was going to be empty. She was going to go for a walk through town, sending out invitations to anyone who was interested. But she had to be careful of who she selected. She could not permit certain zoners inside, otherwise it would begin to complicate things. She had to stick to the zoners that met the qualifications she had listeed in her head.

She stopped in the middle of the room. She looked around. It felt like she was in a giant cylinder. The walls were around, curving around her, feeling almost as though it was spinning. She took note of the place's details, impressed with how fancy it looked despite it being so small.

Around her, she could see a few doors, flat at the sides, round at the top. They all led down curving corridors, emptying into different parts of the building. There was a staircase in front of her, which curved around a few times before terminating in a platform above her. A fancy, curly railing was the only thing keeping people from falling over. There was a door up there, this one a bit bigger and a different color than the rest. This led to the outdoor balcony, which could only fit a few people.

Sandra took a few steps forward. She felt her claws clanging against the hard marble beneath her feet. She looked down, admiring the swirly cloudly pattern the marble offered. She admired how the artist of this place managed to combine marble and metal in such a fashion. They blended so well together, sometimes Sandra couldn't tell what was what until she touched it.

She moved through the Shrapnel Tower, mentally creating herself a map so she knew where to go and when. In order for her plan to work, she needed to make sure she knew this place inside and out. Otherwise, she could end up hurting herself.

She stopped in front of one of the doorways. She raised her hand up and placed it against the frame. Her eyes narrowed a bit, bitter thoughts moving through her head. She felt a pang in her heart as her plan was coming into full fruition.

Was...was this the right thing to do..?

Lately, Sandra heard a voice inside of her, trying to tell her to stop. Perhaps she should listen to that voice. This wasn't the acceptable thing to do..was it? After all, Snap didn't really know the machine belonged to her, did he? He never once brought it up. He seemed to thnk it belonged to someone else. He...he probably didn't even mean to...

She shook her head. She couldn't afford to go soft. Not now. She knew what had to be done. There was no other choice. Snap crossed the line when he invaded her territory and destroy her machine. He was the one who betrayed her trust. He was the one who went over the boundaries. He was lucky that she didn't lose her business entirely when he destroyed her machine. Things could have been so much worse.

She needed to make sure he couldn't ever do that again. He needed to learn that she will not tolerate anyone ruining her business. Not even a friend. She needed to show him that he should be careful of what he does, because he never knew who he was going to hurt.

This was the only way Snap could see. It was the only way he would be able to understand how she felt, and the consequences of his actions. Surely, he wound understand, right? He was her friend. He'd understand why she had to do this. Yes, he might be angry at first..but in the end, he'd understand.

She was torn from her thoughts when she heard the door open up. She swiveled her head over and saw a humanoid lion zoner walking in. The zoner was pretty lanky for a male lion, and his mane was so poofy it was almost comical. He appeared to be holding some large box in his hands, effortlessly carrying it around despite the lack of muscle in his arms.

"Special delivery for Sandra!" The zoner spoke up, his voice rather deep for someone his size.

"Hello, Arno!" Sandra greeted, waving her hand to the lion.

Arno smiled and he carried the box over towards her. "Where would you like this?" He adjusted the box in his arms. He staggered bak a little, nearly falling over. Sandra winced, realizing just how heavy the box really was. "Man this is so heavy.." He stared over at Sandra. "Where can I set this thing down before it crushes my toes?"

Sandra stared at him for a few seconds, and then moved her arm to the side. She pointed towards one of the doors. "In there, please."

Arno nodded his head. He walked over towards the door. Rather, he staggered. Sandra watched through partially narrowed eyes as Arno made his way over. She shook her head. She didn't get why he didn't bring assistance. Oh well. That was his problem, not hers.

After Arno delivered the package where she indicated, he walked back towards her. He cleared his throat as he pulled out a paper and pen to sign it with.

Sandra took the clipboard from him and seized the pen in her hand. She quicky signed her name and gave it back to him. Arno took his cap off to her, giving her a small smile. Before he started to walk off, he paused, and a serious expression graced his face. Sandra remained quiet, waiting for him to speak.

"What did you want that stuff for anyway?" Arno asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Usually people don't ask for that stuff until..."

"Oh I know... Believe me, I know." Sandra motioned her hand down a couple of times, a signal to get Arno to be quiet. The lion zoner fell silent, his expression becoming that of confusion as he looked at her. "But I wanted to give Snap a surprise." She grinned, her sharp teeth glinting in the light of the room. "After all, doesn't the little hero deserve some fireworks in his honor?"

Arno rubbed the back of his head. He frowned slightly, his lip curling back at one side. He turned his head, thinking for a moment. He looked back at her. "Eh.." He gave a quick shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah I suppose so. Did you tell him?" He placed the clipboard under his arm as he said this.

Sandra chuckled, shaking her head. "It's supposed to be a surprise, remember?"

Arno blinked a few times, then widened his eyes. "Oh.." He moved his head back. "I gotcha.. Yeah." He turned his head to where he placed the box. He then looked back at the female zoner. "Well I wish you the best of luck!"

Sandra raised up her hand, waving as the zoner walked off. She turned her attention, staring intently at the box filled with the items she needed. She smirked softly, grinning as a few chuckles escaped her throat. "I'm sure I'll have all the luck in the world at my side today..." She walked up to the box, running her hand over it softly. "I have a good feeling about this."

Sandra knew she couldn't rest now. She couldn't waste time sitting around, doing nothing. She had to get everything prepared. She had what she wanted. But she still needed to set up whatever else she needed, including getting some zoners here. She knew of certain ones who would be perfect for this, but before she could get them, she had to get other things to this place. Water, cake, food, streamers, whatever she could to make this place look and feel like a party.

Then, once everything was set, the only thing left to do was to wait for Snap. Only then could she start to put things into action.

sss

Snap was taken aback by the size of the party. He looked all around, seeing zoner after zoner. There were so many. He thought that Sandra had told him there wouldn't be a lot of room. Who was she kidding? This place was small but..there was still plenty of room. Definitely more than he imagined there would be. It was difficult for him to move around, having to push through the zoners just to explore more.

This place was quite pretty and fancy. He had to admit, Sandra really knew how to pick locations. This was not in a busy part of ChalkZone, so they didn't have to worry about noise from the city so much, or random zoners trying to come in. This was a private party, so this location made it easier to keep it that way.

He did feel bad that not all the zoners could come. If he had his way, he'd have a large mansion and let all the zoners he could in. Everyone deserved a chance to have fun. It wasn't even about some egocentric urge to show off; he just liked to party and have fun, and he felt the others deserved the same.

The fact that Blocky and Rapsheeba could not come was really disappointing. He had run into them on the way here, and asked them if they were coming. They were confused and said they hadn't even known there was a party. He could only shake his head in disappointment as he thought of the memory. He wished Sandra had been more lenient and invited them. They deserved to be here just as much as he did. Oh well, there was nothing he could do about it now.

He soon managed to reach the other side of the room. There was a row of chairs placed up against the curvature of the wall. He walked towards them and sat down. He leaned back against the chair, taking in a deep breath and sighing. He needed some time to rest; he had been on his feet for awhile just trying to get across the room.

Snap turned his head from one side to the other slowly, watching the zoners around him. They were all having so much fun. Bobbing for apples, playing some card games, chatting, enjoying the snacks that Sandra brought... They were all having a great time. He smiled at this. He was glad that Sandra threw this party. He was certain that this was helping the zoners here take their minds off of what happened. They deserved some moment of peace.

He was a little confused about one thing. He didn't fully recognize anyone here. Some faces looked familiar, but he didn't know anyone here by name. He couldn't help but scratch his head in confusion at this. Why would Sandra invite zoners he did not know? Why didn't she invite anyone he did know? Well, maybe she had her reasons. Maybe she was planning a second, bigger party later on. Maybe she...

"Hey!" A zoner cried, coming towards him. "You're Snap, right?"

Snap turned his head. He could see a stick figure zoner approaching him. He couldn't recognize who it was, same with most of the other zoners. "Yeah I mean." He wathced as she smiled and sat down. "Who are you?"

"Oh you don't know me, but I know you." She replied. "I'm Galena. I'm Taima's sister." Snap looked at her in confusion. She giggled. "He's one of the zoners you saved when you destroyed that awful machine."

Snap's eyes widened. "Your brother was afflicted by it?"

"Yeah.." Galena said softly. She lowered her head, biting her lip. "I-It was awful.. He wasn't acting like himself, he..."

Snap looked at her sadly. He couldn't imagine what that must have been like. To have a family member be hurt like that, to act like someone they didn't know... He bit his lip, wanting to do something to comfort her. He reached forward and placed ahand on her shoulder. She glanced at it, and then looked at him.

Snap offered the best smile he could. "Don't worry. Everything will be all right. My friends and I will see to it that nothing like this happens again."

Galena smiled at him. She wiped away a small tear that got out of her eye. "Thank you so smuch." Without warning, Galena wrapped her arms around the zoner, pulling him into a hug. Snap was startled, but he soon hugged her back. "You're the best..."

"Aww..I was just doing what was necessary." Snap said softly. He moved away from her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Rest assured that you won't have to go through that again." His smile broadened. "Me and my friends will find out who was doing this, and we will stop them."

Galena smiled at this and nodded her head once. She wiped away another tear. "Yeah..I know you will."

"Look everyone! It's Snap!" A male voice cried.

"Yeah it is!" A female zoner said.

"I can't believe I didn't notice him earlier!"

"I wonder if he knows anything?" Another voice cried.

Before Snap knew it, he was surrounded by a bunch of zoners on all around him. Different kinds, animal and human, both male and female, some tall, some large, some small. He cringed back a little as the zoners enclosed all around him, looking at him with expressions of awe and happiness. Many were trying to ask him questions, but with them talking all at once, he couldn't answer any of them.

Eventually, Snap spoke up, using a voice loud enough for them to hear.

"Please everyone! One at a time!"

The zoners around him immediately fell silent. They looked regretful, glancing at each other and then back at Snap. They remained silent for a few moments, and Snap wondered if he used a too firm voice. He was about to apologize when one of the zoners, the first one to draw the others' attention him, spoke.

"We apologize." He placed a hand against himself. "We were just so excited to meet you, the zoner who stopped that nasty machine. We just wanted to know if you found out more about that machine, and if you know who made it."

Around him, the other zoners nodded their heads in agreement. They murmured excitedly among themselves, looking at Snap curiously. Among the murmuring, Snap could hear some statements.

"Yeah, did you find out anything new?"

"Who did this? Have they been stopped?"

"Are we safe?"

Snap cleared his throat, getting the zoners' attention as they quieted down. After a few seconds of mental preparation, Snap said, "I'll explain what I can. But I need everyone to be quiet okay?"

The zoners nodded in understanding. Snap smiled at this, glad that they were going to be cooperative. He cleared his throat again and he began to explain the situation to the zoners.

He told them about how he and his friends spoke to some patients and a couple electricians to try to figure out what was going on. He explained that they have no yet found a pattern and that they were worried that this culprit could be after anyone, uncaring of who they harmed. They were nowhere near figuring out who had done this, which unsettled the zoners.

He did his best to cheer them up by telling them that he and his friends were going to talk to some civilians across town and to more patients and electricians to try to get more information. He promised them that he and his friends would do what they could to make sure no one was hurt by the signal. He was going to make sure that the culprit gets locked away for what they have done.

This was enough to assure most of the zoners. Most of the zoners looked relieved that something was being done and that, at least for the time being, they were safe from the signal. A few zoners didn't seem too happy with this. They probably expected a more instant fix. Snap couldn't really fault them; some people just want results fast so they can move on with life. These zoners were hoping this part of their life was over so they can continue. He hated telling them the bad news, but sometimes, life just doesn't go the way one would expect. Life...can bring about nasty surprises.

After he was done chatting with the zoners, he started to join them in with the games. They wanted him to have some fun as well, since he hadn't been doing much since he got here. He played several games, including chinese chalkers, tennis, and a few other games. He enjoyed himself, and laughed and played along with the other zoners. They even managed to play a game of tag, which was incredible considering that, in this place, it was near impossible to move around effectively.

After a while of play, the zoners suddenly stopped. Snap looked at them in confusion. He then saw why they stopped.

Sandra was approaching him. She had a calm, tranquil expression on her face, her mouth ticked into a small smile. She certainly looked happier than she was this morning, and she had a calmer aura. The zoners made way for the party planner as she moved towards Snap.

The superhero zoner looked up at her and waved a hand in her direction. "Hello, Sandra! Great party!"

Sandra chuckled, folding her arms behind her back. "Why thank you! It was hard for me to organize it. I almost forgot certain things so I had to rush at the last minute."

Snap looked left and right. "Well even then, you did a fantastic job." Snap held his arms straight out, grinning widely. "This party has been wonderful!"

"I"m glad you feel that way. This party has been a..labor of love." Sandra said, making a slight bow towards Snap as a sign of respect. "Please...come with me." She reached out towards him, her hand indicating him.

"Why?" Snap asked.

"I want to show you something." Sandra said. Her eyes brightened as her smile inreased. "I made a surprise for you. I kept in the back. I didn't want anyone else to see it before you did. I know you are just going to love it!"

"Aw shucks, you shouldn't have!" Snap couldn't stop the near-stupid looking grin from spreading across his face.

Sandra waved her hand in front of him. "It was no trouble at all! After all..." Sandra moved closer to him, putting her arm around him and pulling him close. "You deserve it! After the way you stopped that awful signal, you deserve some praise!" She chuckled. "Besides, what are friends for?"

Snap continued to smile at Sandra. He was glad she was doing much better. She was definitely in a better mood right now. The party's affects must be getting to her. He was happy for that. Seeing her in a happier mood made him joyful. He hoped that she would stay like this, and not worry about that dreaded machine. And when it was finally stopped, he couldn't wait to see the look on her face.

"Now shall we get going?" Sandra asked. She motioned towards a door on the other side. "The gift is waiting for you."

"I can wait until the end of the party." Snap offered.

Sandra shook her head. "No, I insist." She paused, and she said, "Sorry. I'm just so excited to show you!" She giggled happily. "I've been waiting for hours to give it to you!"

"Well..." Snap tapped his hand against his chin. He heard some of the other zoner around him encouraging him to go get the gift. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Snap took a few steps towards Sandra. "Okay, I'll accept the gift now."

Sandra grinned. "Excellent!"

"Hey, just what did you get me anyway?" Snap asked as the two of them headed over.

Sandra looked at him, giving him a backwards glance. "That is a surprise. But don't worry. You'll find out in a few seconds..." She turned her head awa and continued walking towards the door. "You can handle that, right?"

Snap stared at her, then nodded his head. "Yeah, I suppose I can." Though he would have wanted to hear what the gift was now, he did realize there wasn't much of a difference. He'll find out very soon, so perhaps it was best to wait.

Soon, the two zoners reached the door. Sandra reached forward, and turned the knob, opening the door. She smiled down at Snap and motioned for him to go in first. She followed closely behind, shutting the door behind her. The two zoners began to walk down the hallway, towards an unknown destination.

After a while of walking and no sight of his gift anywhere, Snap said, "Hey, Sandra. Where's the..."

He was silenced when a loud, ear-piercing explosion ripped through the corridor. The explosion engulfed much of the building, fire and heat spreading everywhere. The screams of zoners filled Snap's ears only for a few seconds. Then, his body wracked with sudden pain, Snap collapsed on the ground.


	6. Wake Up

Good morning, day. Sorry I'm not there.

-Drown, Three Days Grace

sss

Pain.. So much agonizing pain...

A sense of burning against his white skin...

Smoke filling up his lungs, burning them...

So much confusion, the world around him a blur...

Snap laid on the ground, moaning in pain. His mind was muddled as he tried to think of just what happened. He couldn't remember what he had been doing. His ears were ringing, making it hard for him to hear anything affectively, although he could hear some crackles of flames around him.

He slowly opened his eyes, and he immediately hissed in pain. His eyes burned as the smoke entered them. He coughed pitifully, trying to get the dirty air out of his lungs. He gritted his teeth, unable to drive away the horrible taste the smoke had. The stench of the burning frame of the building was all around him. Despite this place being made of marble and metal, somehow, even that seemed to be catching on fire.

Through his blurry gaze, he could see the fire had a different color to it. The fact that it was pure white, and radiating heat more intensely than any fire he was used to, only grazed his mind momentarily as he became more and more aware of agonizing pain.

The stunned zoner attempted to push himself up from the ground. His hands supported him only for a few seconds. His limbs shook too much and soon he found himself collapsing back onto the ground. He let out a grunt of pain as his chin slammed, nearly making him bite his own tongue. He laid there, quivering in pain, fear starting to take over his mind as he could not remember what was going on.

Soon, as the ringing in his ears became to die down, he began to hear footsteps. He lifted up his head, looking around, trying to find where it was coming from. He soon saw a shadowy figure on the wall. The black shape wafered and distorted due to the smoke and flames. Snap's eyes widened and he tried again to get up. He had no idea who this was, and in his panicked state, his first thought was to get out of here.

He did not get far. As soon as his foot began to support him, a sudden pain swept through his limbs as he fell back down. He let out a cry as his shoulder hit against the ground. He shivered on the ground as he tried to cope with the pain. He opened up one eye and looked in the direction of the approaching being. Knowing that he was at their full mercy, Snap closed his eyes and waited for the blow to come.

But it didn't. The footsteps soon stopped. Snap, confused, opened up his eyes and turned his head towards the figure. He couldn't make much details out, except for the eye, which glared straight down at him, barely illuminated by the white fire. Snap found himself unable to tear away from this near hypnotic glare.

"...Snap..."

The zoner was surprised when the figure spoke to him. The voice seemed..familiar. But in his head, it was so echoey and distorted, and there were other noises intermixing with it, that he was unable to make a positive identification.

"I am so sorry it had to be this way. I never wanted to do this. But you have crossed the line. This is the only way."

Crossed the line? What was this zoner talking about? Snap couldn't recall doing anything that would have warranted this.

Unless... Was this zoner talking about...?

He never got a chance to finish that thought

"If you are afraid, do not fear. I will make sure you will not remember this unpleasant encounter." The figure reached towards him with what looked like a four clawed hand. "Now hold still. Soon, this won't even be a distant memory."

Unable to move out of the way and feeling desperate, Snap began to growl softly as the hand approached, an act he wouldn't usually do under normal circumstances. The figure froze as the zoner bared his teeth in self defense, but the hand kept on coming towards him.

Before Snap knew it, the hand was on him. He shut his eyes as an intense feeling rushed through his body. Then, seconds later, he blacked out.

sss

"Snap!"

"Come on, you have to wake up!"

"Please, you can do it!"

Snap's eyes opened up. He took in a sharp breath as an intense white light flooded into his head, his eyes squinting. He looked all around, trying to make sense of where he was. His vision was blurry and he could barely make out the shapes that surrounded him.

All around him, he could see mainly white. This was not the color of his room. And this bed...it didn't feel like his own. He felt around, feeling how soft it was, and yet firm. He could feel the sensation of something on his body. He glanced down, noting that there was something large, yet light, placed around his body. He could see it move up and down with each breath that he took. He turned his head and he could see what looked like a cabinet, a door, a television mounted on the wall...yet he still could not understand where he was.

He could see some colors next to him. Kind of tall, yet small. Brown and green were the dominant colors, intermixing together. He blinked a few times, and each blink made the picture a bit sharper. He did this a few more times and he was soon able to figure out these figures were human.

As soon as he recognized the figures, he spoke, his voice scratchy and dull. "R-Rudy...? P-Penny...?" He let out a soft groan as he tried to shift himself. "Wh-What happened...?"

Through his newly sharpened vision, he could see his friends look at each other worriedly. When they glanced back at him, he noted their confusion when he only looked at them with a perplexed expression. Was he not responding the way they were hoping? Was something wrong? Snap wished he knew what was going on, but his mind was a blur, a blank.

Snap tried to move some more, but realized he could not. He was not restrained in any way, but his muscles felt so tight. They would hardly obey his commands. Why not? It wasn't like he was sleeping for that long.

Or was he sleeping? Why would he sleep in a hospital? He couldn't remember how he would have gotten here. Why would he invade a hospital just to sleep?

That was when he finally registered the pain.

Snap let out a cry of agony as pain shot up and down his body, concentrating on his legs. He tried to clutch them, but his arms wouldn't move; they were too stiff and tired from whatever happened. The pain radiated from his legs, and it felt as though someone set them on fire. Rudy and Penny looked at him, horrified, Penny's mouth covered by her hand. He could hear them shout something incomprehensible.

Seconds later, a couple of zoners approached him. They were wearing some kind of uniform. But in Snap's confused state, he couldn't tell why they were here. As he felt their hands on him, he stiffened up, letting out a louder cry of pain. His heart pounding, he turned his head and bit down on the arm of the nearest nurse.

The zoner let out a painful shout and barked at the other zoner, "Call for backup! Patient is being driven mad by pain!"

The next few minutes were a blur to Snap. He heard Rudy and Penny telling him to let go. He heard the zoner giving orders. He could feel the arm being pulled away as he tried to continue biting down.

Snap wanted to stop. He wanted to let go. A part of him was telling him he was fine, that they were only here to help. But confusion reigned down over him, making everything around him too incomprehensible. All he knew was that he was in pain, and he had no idea why. His panicky state was causing him to lash out and he found it hard to stop.

Then he felt something sharp in his body. He couldn't tell where it had been stuck. There was so much pain, any new one was hard for him to fully detect. After several minutes of the injection, Snap felt his mind start to relax. His heart rate began to return normal, and his grip on the zoner's arm slacked, and the limb was pulled from it.

Snap soon laid there, his body mostly limp. His breathing, which had been quick before, slowed down and his eyes no longer had that wild, fear-filled look in them. He looked around again, and he soon realized that he had bitten down on a nurse.

At this realization, Snap started to feel guilty. He looked up at the nurse apologetically. He tried to say he was sorry, but his words were slurred and difficult to make. His eyes began to flutter as exhaustion started to over take him. He fought against the desire to go to sleep, and soon remained still on the bed, his eyes turning up towards Rudy and Penny.

The two humans were horrified by what happened. They reached out to touch him, but one of the nurses held them back, not wanting another biting incident to happen, even after he had been successfully drugged. Rudy and Penny could only stare down at him sympathetically, their eyes silently trying to reassure him despite their fears.

It was only after about half an hour of being drugged and him being relaxed, that Rudy and Penny spoke up again.

"Snap..we're...we're so glad that you're..." Penny sniffled, wiping away a tear.

"You were out for...a long time." Rudy said. He sounded like he had been crying for a long time. "We thought we lost you..."

Penny turned to Rudy, trying to smile the best she could despite of herself. "Mint is going to love to hear this." Rudy didn't answer, instead just nodding his head.

"H-H-How long...was I..." Snap couldn't finish. He wheezed, feeling a scratchiness in his throat.

Rudy bit his lip. "Please...don't talk too much. You suffered some throat damage."

Penny said, "You were out for about two weeks."

The shock of this was barely felt by Snap. In his drugged state, shock and surprise barely graced his mind. He could only stare at Penny somewhat blankly as she said that. The sight of him reacting like this must have been worrisome, as Penny put a hand to her mouth, her expression saddening.

"Y-You see, Snap, there was..an explosion..." Rudy said. His voice had a crack to it. "That party you went to... The building exploded, and you were caught in the blaze and..."

"P-Party...?" Snap groaned. His blurred mind swirled as he tried to comprehend what Rudy had said. "Wh-What party..?"

At this, Rudy and Penny gasped in horror.

sss

Rudy couldn't believe it. He stared at Snap, hoping that he was joking. But...he knew deep down that he wasn't. Snap was in no condition to joke. The drug he was injected with would make it hard for him to lie. And even if he wasn't injected, he woudn't joke or lie about something like this. He bit his lip, feeling his heart clench as he tried to make sense of it.

How could Snap not remember the party? He had been excited for it ever since he found out. Sandra had held a party for him to attend in his honor. Snap talked about the party a couple of times, and he had even gone out of his way to get Rudy early enough for it. He had mentioned he believed the party would help lighten everyone's moods, that the zoners deserved some fun after what happened.

And for him to not remember any of that... Rudy's mind swirled, his gut feeling heavy, like someone filled it with rocks. He recalled the doctors said he suffered some kind of head trauma, but they wouldn't be sure of the extent until after he woke up. Rudy was aware that amnesia was possible, but he had hoped it wouldn't happen.

Now that it did, Rudy started to fear the worse. Just how much of his brain was affected? How widespread was the amnesia? Would he ever recover from it? This and other thoughts invaded his head, swirling around it, making it hard for him to concentrate on much else.

"Snap...you really don't remember?" He heard Penny say, her voice having a pleading edge to it. "You told us all about it, how Sandra invited you, the celebration of your accomplishment with the machine..."

Snap shook his head. "I..don't remember going to...any party..." He wheezed out, coughing a couple of times.

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other, biting their lips. This was becoming even more serious than before. Even though their friend was awake now, and that alone improved his prognosis, the amnesia counteracted that. It made them realize there was brain damage, and if he had amnesia, what else could he have gotten?

They hadn't noticed the doctor in the room until he spoke up.

"I see he developed amnesia. That is rather unfortunate."

The voice caused the two children to jerk in shock. They looked behind them, and they saw the doctor, a bird-like zoner, approach. He held a clipboard in his feathered fingers, his long neck pushed forward as he peered down at Snap with his yellow eyes. The superhero zoner cringed at this, looking unnerved by the doctor being that close to him.

The doctor zoner pulled his head back, moving away as if to help Snap relax more. Only when Snap stopped whimpering in fear did the doctor zoner procede to speak with him.

"Hello, Snap. No need to be afraid." The zoner gestured towards himself. "I am Dr. Crobat. As I'm sure you are already aware, you have been knocked out for two weeks. We thought you weren't going to make it. I am pleased to see that you are are awake now, but the amnesia you have been stricken with concerns me greatly." Dr. Crobat came closer to Snap and gentl placed his hand on his shoulder. "We will need to run some scans and make sure there isn't more damage than we had feared."

Snap coughed a couple of times. "Wh-What about the others..?"

At this, Rudy and Penny's hearts twisted. They looked at each other sadly, then back at Snap. The poor guy didn't know... Snap was the kind of zoner to put others' needs above his own. He would be more devastated of someone else getting hurt than whatever happened to him.

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but he could see the doctor already made a move to tell Snap. Rudy stood there silently, looking at Snap sympathetically as the zoner was being given the worst news he could ever recieve.

"I'm sorry, Snap.." Dr. Crobat said. "You were the only survivor."

Rudy watched as Snap's eyes widened at this. Despite the zoner's groggy and confused state, those words seemed to permeate his head. Rudy could see Penny wipe away her tears. Rudy let out a small sniffle, his head lowering.

He still remembered those words... Those awful words... They had just heard about the explosion and they rushed to the hospital where Snap had been taken. Snap looked so awful, knocked out and still in the hospital bed, many wires hooked up to him. The sight was horrible, hard for them to bear seeing. Mint nearly fell down onto his knees when he saw Snap's state.

They soon found out that the explosion happened where Sandra's party was. Thankfully, Sandra had not even arrived at the party yet; she was the one who called the police and brought them over. However, there were many zoners inside. She begged them to save whoever they could.

The flames had spread and engulfed much of the building. Nobody knows what caused the explosion, or why the flames were white. What they do know is that the building was being ripped apart by the fire.

The rescuers worked as fast as they could. They searched the building high and low, bringing out as many victims as they could, including Snap. Most of the victims were dead, burned to death by the flames. The ones that did survive longer died shortly after from their wounds. Only Snap remained.

Rudy and his friends were shaken up by this ordeal. It happened so suddenly. None of them expected something like this to happen. He wanted to punch the wall in frustration. They had recently recovered from Snap barely escaping a previous explosion, only for him to wander straight into another one. But this time, he did not escape unscathed.

Rudy let his gaze fall upon Snap. He wondered how his friend was going to take the news when he recieved it.

sss

Snap shook his head in denial. He looked up at the doctor, hoping and praying it was all a lie.

But the face never changed. The words were never altered. They continued echoing in his mind, tearing at his heart. Snap fought against the tears that began to form. Even in his muggy state, the words still afflicted his mind, buzzing around, not leaving him alone.

"You were the only survivor."

That...that wouldn't be right.. Could it? How could he be the only one? If it was a party, shouldn't there be more survivors? He couldn't be the only one left. Someone else had to have survived, right? It...It was impossible..no...

Snap couldn't stop the tears from dripping down his face. His mind raced, his breathing increasing. He thought about al lthe zoners that were probably there. There were a ton of zoners in ChalkZone City. Just how many had gone to the party? How manhy of those zoners had he met in the past? How many of them were his friends?

At the thought of this, his heart burned. What if...what if Rapsheeba were caught in the flames? Or Blocky? Or Lars? Or... He had to know if they were all right. If they were hurt, he'd never forgive himself. Despite the horrific pain he was in, the blue and white zoner began to struggle on the bed.

"No!" Dr. Crobat cried. The bird zoner rushed forward and grabbed onto one of his arms, holding it down. "You need to settle down, Snap!"

Snap didn't listen to the doctor. He continued to struggle. He jerked himself from side to side. The drug he was injected with had worn off as adrenaline pumped through his body. He could feel his heart racing again, threatening to burst open from his chest cavity.

"Hold still!" Dr. Crobat demanded, his beak gritted.

Snap turned his head from side to side. His eyes were shut tightly, teeth clenched. "No no no no! It can't be true! No!"

"Snap!" Penny cried in horror, holding her hand out towards him.

Rudy looked at the doctor, his eyes filled with terror. "Help him! Please!"

Dr. Crobat grabbed onto Snap's shoulders and pushed him down. Snap winced at this, but his struggles did not cease. He opened up his eyes, seeing the doctor's face glaring down at him. As soon as he saw his face, the doctor's words again echoed in his mind. That he was the only survivor... His struggles increased.

Dr. Crobat turned to the nurse beside him. "Another dose! Now! And you!" He turned to the second nurse. "Get some restraints! We need to keep him from hurting himself!"

Snap turned his head during his struggles. As the second nurse left to get some restraints, as the first nurse prepared another shot, as the doctor held him down, he could see the looks on his friends' faces. If he were more calm and relaxed, their expressions would make him stop. They were silently pleading with him to settle down. But he could not. He had to get out of here. He had to find Rapsheeba and Blocky and...

His eyes widened as he felt the sharp needle in his shoulder. The cool liquid was pushed inside. He let out a help, turning his head and trying to bite the nurse who pushed in the needle. She moved out of the way before he could get close enough. He felt a hand on his head, holding it down.

"N-No..." Snap whimpered as the drug started to take effect. "Please, no..."

sss

Rudy and Penny watched, their hands to their mouths, tears flowing down their faces, as Snap succumbed to the second injection. They couldn't believe it had to come to this. Another injection just to try to settle him down. The news of him being the only survivor had clearly messed with his head much more than even they could have predicted.

They remained silent, in stunned horror, as the second nurse returned with the restraints. Padded and stretchy, yet strong, they would be good enough to keep Snap from hurting himself more. The doctor and nurses worked together to restrain Snap's body to the bed. His legs and arms were quickly secured, holding him down.

Snap's breathing slowed down again and his eyes shut part way. He opened his mouth and breathed in slowly. He looked even more tired than before. Penny shivered at this, unable to believe that her friend had to be injected twice. But...what other choice was there?

Snap's panic was deep, primal, and he looked like he was determined to jump out and run away even at the expense of his own health. Snap needed to be drugged a second time to sap away that energy so he could relax. The restraints would make sure that he couldn't attempt an escape a second time.

Penny watched as Snap relaxed on the bed, sadly an affect of the drug rather than him being calm himself. There was still something of a look of fear in his eyes, and she knew that wouldn't go away any time soon.

But at least, for now, he was restrained so he could no longer hurt himself. Though she was still shaken up by what happened, she was happy to know that Snap was properly secured and no longer in danger of hurting himself.

As she looked down at her friend as he became more and more relaxed, his eyes closing a little more, Penny bit her lip. She casted a worried glance to Rudy. Neither of them knew what to expect in the near future. Would Snap react like this again? Would he suddenly spurt into a rage after he was brought home? They could only hope that he'd get better, and that the doctors can provide some medication for him.

The poor guy was goin to suffer massive mental trauma from this. She shivered, realizing it was the Mint and Skrawl incidents all over again.

When Mint broke Snap's back, the little guy was not just in a lot of pain, but he was absolutely terrified for several days, constantly thinking Mint was going to come back. He suffered a few nightmares of the incident as well, which made it hard for him to sleep at night.

The incident with Skrawl was worse. Although Skrawl did not cause as much damage as Mint had, he still had Snap restrained down so he couldn't defend himself or even see what was happening. He was, in a way, stripped of his sight. It got worse when Skrawl removed his back brace and exposed his wound to him. Then the claws came down...

Penny was not surprised when Snap had more vicious nightmares of that, and was in a worse mental state afterwards. It wasn't right away; it took time and only after things began to settle down did Snap have bad dreams of the incident.

She had no doubt in her mind that Snap would have nightmares about this. There was just...no way he wouldn't. He had escaped an explosion, got caught in a second one, and he had just been told that he was the only survivor. He was going to need a lot of help getting through this.

The doctor's voice spoke up, tearing her away from her thoughts. She looked over, seeing the doctor positioned beside Snap. Though he appeared tired, Snap looked like he was aware enough to detect the doctor standing before him.

Dr. Crobat glared softly down at Snap. "You need to take it easy. You can't get out of bed yet." Snap opened his mouth to speak, but he was so drugged now, he didn't have the energy. He turned his head to the side, taking in slow breaths. The doctor moved his head, his beak trailing above Snap's body, and soon he was looking at Snap's lower extremities.

"Your legs suffered a lot of damage."

Snap's one eye turned to the doctor widened a little at this. Penny held her breath, worried Snap was going to struggle yet again. But this time, he did not. She felt relieved.

"You will need to keep off them for a long time." Dr. Crobat said. He looked at his clipboard, flipping through it and reading its contents. He lowered his head and shook it. "But I'm afraid I can't give you an exact estimate."

"Excuse me, but.." Rudy took a few steps forward, holding a finger to the air. "Do you really think now is a good time to be telling my friend this? He still drugged and..."

"The sooner, the better. He's aware enough." Dr. Crobat said, not bothering to look at Rudy. "If he forgets, you can remind him."

Rudy tried to speak up again, but was silenced when Dr. Crobat raised up his wing hand. Rudy glared softly at the doctor, but made no reply. He merely took a step back, and let the doctor continue to speak to Snap. Penny looked sadly at Rudy. She could understand his frustration. She would speak up herself, but felt it was best not to interrupt the doctor.

Dr. Crobat peered closely at Snap's blanket covered legs before turning his head towards the small zoner. He gritted his beak, and let out a forceful sigh. "You suffered second degree burns on both your legs, as well as your feet. You will be required to have skin grafts, and you will not be able to use your legs for at least two months."

At this, Snap's eyes widened a little. He began to whimper softly. Penny bit her lip at this. Even in his current state, Snap still understood just what was said to him. He understood the magnitude, the gravity of the situation. He had been deprived of the ability to walk, sentenced to weeks upon weeks of horrific pain. The situation must be weighing down heavily on his mind.

Dr. Crobat's expression softened up and he lowered his head. "I am sorry to have to give you the bad news, Snap. We managed to begin repairing, but it will still take some time for your wounds to heal. But the good news is that as long as this keeps up, and you keep resting, you'll be back on your feet soon."

This didn't seem to do much to help Snap's spirit. The zoner was crying softly now. He was not struggling, but his body was shaking with each cry he gave. He closed his eyes softly, his teeth clenched and whimpers emitting from his mouth.

Ignoring the doctor, Penny and Rudy approached Snap. Dr. Crobat looked at them, but said nothing. He moved away, as did the nurses, and allowed them time with their friend. Penny stroked Snap's head gently while Rudy held his hand. They whispered soft words of comfort to him, trying their best to settle him down.

"Shh...it's okay, Snap. You're going to be fine." Penny cooed to him. She lowered her head and gently nuzzled him, careful to avoid the smaller, less severe wounds on his face. "Everything will be okay."

"Yeah, you'll see. You'll get better soon." Rudy gently squeezed Snap's hand, rubbing the top of it with his other. "Just wait and see. Soon you'll be out of the hospital and it'll be like nothing happened."

Snap looked up at them with wide eyes. He did not speak, but the message was clear. Snap wasn't sure what was going to happen to him, and he wanted their reassurance.

But that wasn't all they could see in his eyes. There was also sorrow, and guilt. Snap was going to be afflicted with survivor's guilt. It wasn't a matter of if, but when. She and Rudy knew Snap well enough to know that their friend would feel guilty about being the only one who survived the explosion. And then were there those who might be angry at him simply for being the only survivor. There might be accusations...

Penny shook the thought out of her head. She felt silly for having that thought. The zoners knew full well that Snap would never do something like that on purpose, and any one she, Rudy, and Mint spoke to only ever expressed concern for the zoner. If anything, all the zoners hoped he would survive because him being a survivor meant he could give valuable information. He might even be able to lead them to the culprit.

And maybe this culprit might be the same one who was responsible for that machine...

But for now, that would have to wait. Snap was in no condition to be interrogated. He needed some rest. His mental state was weakened right now, and he needed some more time before he was ready to answer any big questions...if his amnesia wears off by then. Penny hoped that Snap's memory lapse was just the result of him having just woken up. In cases of trauma like this, it may take time before memories return.

But if it didn't... Well, they'll think of something when the time comes.

"How is he doing?"

Rudy and Penny turned their heads as a newcomer came into the room. They didn't need to look for them to know who this was. There was no mistaking that sound as the person walked. A familiar thud, and then a sound that was..different, yet the same.

Stepping up towards them, his fingers interlocked in nervousness, was Mint. The thirteen year old wore a grim expression, sucking on his lip, as he approached the bed. He glanced down at Snap, his eyes flashing relief quickly that he was now awake, before looking over at Rudy and Penny expectantly.

"He's doing better." Rudy said. "He's awake now at least." He sighed softly, the sadness from it unmistakable. "But he had to be drugged twice."

At Mint's widened eyes, Penny added, "He panicked twice and almost hurt himself. He also had to be restrained."

At this, Mint glanced down. He gasped softly as he took notice of Snap's restrained limbs. He placed a hand on his cheek and shook it slowly. "Poor Snap..." He sighed and looked back at his human companions. "I wish there was something we can do for him."

"I'm afraid not." Dr. Crobat said. He stared intently at Mint. "Snap's recovery will take a long time. He might be awake now, but there's still internal damage that needs to heal. You may speak with him, make him comfortable, but that's about all you and your friends can do for him."

Penny glared softly at Dr. Crobat. But as cold as that statement was, she knew he was right. She might have some medical knowledge, but that wasn't going to help her much with aiding Snap. She didn't have that extensive of knowledge with treating burns like that, and she knew there was nothing that could be done to speed up the process. She, Rudy, and Mint could be here for him, but that would not heal his skin or get him out of bed faster.

Only time will do that. Only time, which felt like it was moving so slowly now. The longer Snap stayed here, the more the hours and days felt muddled, intermixed together with no distinction. But...eventually..things would get better. She knew it would. It was just a matter of time.

sss

Mint stared at the scene before him. He felt his heart twist as he got closer to his friends. He looked down at Snap, feeling a wave of guilt hit him. Even though he was not responsible for what happened to Snap, he still felt as though he could have done something different. He had no doubt that Rudy and Penny felt the same way. They all wished that they had seen warning signs, and done something to stop this from happening.

But how could they have known? None of them had enough information to know that the culprit would strike again, and so viciously. Mint was certain that the zoner who made the machine was the one who caused the explosion. How could it not be? It made so much sense. The culprit probably wanted Snap out of the way...

Rudy had some doubts of this, but despite that, he did not rule out the possibility. Mint recalled one of their past discussions. The reason Rudy wasn't entirely certain was because he didn't understand the need of the culprit to bring in so many zoners. They all knew the culprit didn't really care who they killed, but Min thad to admit, it did seem like a giant waste of time. It would have been more efficient to just lure Snap on his own, instead of spending time gathering other random zoners.

That did little to deter his mind. He was positive that blasted culprit was responsible for this. It was too much of a coincidence. The culprit had found out that Sandra was holding the party, and they waited until the right moment to strike.

Anger burned in the pit of Mint's stomach. How dare they do this... How dare they disrupt a moment of peace.. All Sandra had wanted to do was throw a party to not only honor Snap, but to get the zoners' minds off of what happened. But then this happened and... The boy did his best not to growl out of frustration. He did not want to do anything to further upset Snap. The poor zoner needed some time to rest and he wasn't going to be able to if there was too much tension in the aura around him.

Mint felt guilty about not coming here sooner. He had tried to get into ChalkZone faster, but his dad wanted to speak to him, and he was stuck at his house until his dad was finished. It was just another lecture on how to be on time and all that. His dad was trying to prepare him for later in life when being punctual was important.

At least it was just that. Mint was still worried about what would happen if his dad found out about ChalkZone. Knowing him, he really would try to destroy it in order to keep him safe.

He pushed those thoughts aside for now. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Now was the time to focus on Snap. He looked down at the zoner, biting his lip as he looked at his expression of pain. A part of him was relieved, as Snap was actually reacting, not like before when he was still. But now seeing him in pain... it caused his stomach to twist and churn.

Unable to stop himself, Mint couldn't help but think back to what happened a few years ago, when he broke the zoner's back. Snap made similar expressions of pain when he had visited him. And just like then, he felt helpless to aid Snap now. Like the others, he wished he could take away his pain, wished he could see Snap jump out of the bed and run around and have fun...

That was a long way off, sadly. Mint had seen the burns. He knew how horrible it was to have a leg injury, to be unable to walk for a long time. He recalled how his blood chilled when the doctors mentioned probable amputation. He hoped that Snap would not have to endure that.

Mint walked over to the other side of Snap. Ignoring Dr. Crobat as the doctor zoner, along with the nurses, left the room, he reached down and grabbed onto Snap's other hand. He squeezed it gently, just as Rudy was with his other. He placed his other hand on Snap's shoulders, giving him a sympathetic look.

When Snap looked up at him with those large, pain-filled eyes, Mint felt his heart twist and he jerked his head back. He felt tears form in his eyes. He looked so innocent... What did Snap do to deserve this?

This..this reminded him so much of that incident when he broke his back. He had deliberately attacked the zoner. He trapped him, threw him to the ground, and attacked him. The memory of that brought about a stronger level of anger towards the culprit. This had been deliberate as well. The culprit knew what he was doing, and he did this on purpose.

Mint clenched his teeth tightly, bitter tears flowing down his face. Whoever did this, they were going to pay. Big time...

"Do not worry, Mint."

The thirteen year old looked over at Rudy. He could see a grim look of determination in his eyes. It was clear that Rudy had known exactly what he was thinking.

"We will find out who did this. Whoever was responsible, whether it be that mystery villain or that other one, we will find out who did it, and we will stop them." Rudy said, giving him a stern yet comforting look. "Don't worry."

Mint stared at him, and then nodded his head affirmatively. "I know we will."

Although Penny did not speak herself, she looked at each of her friends and nodded. All of them now wore grim expressions of determination. Mint knew, from that point forward, they were going to find out what happened. Even if it took a long time, they would find out who did this. Whoever was responsible, they couldn't hide forever. They would see to that.

But for now, that can wait. For now, it was best to just spend some time with Snap. The zoner needed some comfort and reassurance right now. Mint could hear the zoner whimpering softly on the bed, his eyes shut, tears spilling out. The zoner was in a lot of pain, and mental anguish. The poor guy...

They can go after the culprit later. They would come up with a plan to catch him or her. But Snap needed them now. For Mint, helping Snap was more important than trying to seek revenge against the culprit.

After all, revenge could make things worse. He knew they couldn't afford that. Things were hard enough as it is. If they waste time on that..

..then something terrible could happen to Snap or another zoner. No, he would wait. The time to catch the criminal would come. He knew it would.

"You'll be fine, Snap." Mint whispered to his blue-colored friend. "Just you wait..."

Penny nodded. "Soon you'll be up and running like nothing happened. You just need to rest."

"Try your best and relax, Snap." Rudy said softly. He fought back tears, his eyes taking on a glassy appearance. "Please...everything is going to be fine."

After sometime of comforting Snap, doing what they could to help him relax, their efforts appeared to finally pay off. The zoner was starting to look more noticeably relaxed. His breathing rate slowed down, returning to normal. His face was no longer contorted, and he appeared to be finally entering a state of peace.

Mint and the others smiled at this. Seeing their friend relax was a welcome sight compared to what they had to go through before. Snap had finally woken up and now could really begin the road to recovery. They all knew it wasn't going to be easy, but they were positive Snap would pull through.

And Mint was going to do what he could to help his friend recover. It would take a long time, but he was certain he and the others could do it. Even if they had to reteach him to walk, they'd do it. And they would make sure that dreaded villain never laid a hand on Snap again. Mint couldn't stop him this first time, but he'd be damned if he allowed the villain another shot at him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a small alarm go off. He looked down at his pocket as he felt a vibration coming out of it. He reached down and pulled out his cellphone. He grimaced as he looked at the time.

Turning back to the others, he said, "Sorry guys, but I have to get going."

Penny looked at him, surprised. "Right now? But why?"

"My dad again." Mint sighed softly. "I'm not so much worried about my mom. Out of the two, she is the most mellow. But my dad..if he doesn't come home to me waiting for him..."

"No need to explain." Rudy raised his hand, silencing the boy. "We understand." He looked back down at Snap. "Penny and I will stay with Snap a little longer. But we have to get moving soon."

Mint nodded his head. "I'll be back later. I trust you two will be here as well?"

No words were needed to be spoken. All Mint needed to know their answer as the nod of their heads. He smiled softly at them, and then looked down at Snap. For the final time in that moment, they locked eyes onto each other. Mint gave Snap a sympathetic look before he turned and walked away.

sss

Snap rested on the bed, trying his best to relax. He found it difficult to do so. It was hard for him to relax without his friends around. But..they couldn't very well have stayed forever. They had to go, lest they get their parents worried about them. Besides, they'll be back later.

Snap had been alone for about an hour now. His friends were forced to leave. They had run out of time for the time being. They waved goodbye to him, but with himself restrained, there was no way he could return it. He wished he had been more cooperative and didn't freak out. But it wasn't really his fault. He never asked for the tremendous pain that now coursed through his body. He did not do this to himself.

It was that blasted culprit...

Or at least, he hoped it was. The idea of an unknown attacker was terrifying. At least with the culprit, he had some idea of what to expect, even if they knew little about this guy.

Snap was able think more clearly now that the drug had weakened. He was ble to focus better on what had happened, and think inside his head what he was going to do about it. Obviously, he couldn't do much now. But when he healed up some more, he could help in the search.

He rubbed his head, his limbs no longer tied down. He hoped he would be able to help anyway. He knew his friends and the other zoners would rely on him for information on what happened. But..he really could not remember anything. It scared Snap. How could he not remember something like this? It was an explosion that killed many zoners, and yet he could not remember a thing about it, or the supposed party he had gone to...

He shuddered at the thought of all those zoners having lost their lives. He bit hsi lip, the feelings of survivor guilt rising up inside of him. So far, nobody had accused him, but then, he hadn't really had any visitors aside from his friends. At least while he was conscious. He might have had many visitors while he was still trapped in his dark void of a mind.

It was still unbelievable to him just how much he had slept. How could he have been passed out for that long? Had he been struck in the head? It didn't feel like it hurt that badly, and he detected no bumps. But he dare not touch around too much, for fear of causing more damage.

He hissed in pain as he tried to move his right leg. As soon as he tried, it felt like hot oil was being poured on it. He wanted to see his legs. He wanted to see the extent of the damage. The morbid curiosity had him in its grip, and it was so tempting to lift up the blanket and look. But all he was going to see were two bandaged legs. He knew that's all he'd find. And not seeing his leg was probably for the best; he may panic if he saw the burned skin and blistered flesh. Panicking was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

Not only did he not want another needle stuck inside of him, but he wanted to remain with a more clear mind. He was still in an uncomfortable state, and it would take a while for him to recover from that. But at least, he was now able to think more clearly than before. If he let himself panic again...

...he might do something else drastic. What if he hurt someone in his thrashing? What if he did something he may regret?

But as much as that scared him, something else bugged him more.

Just how were the other zoners doing? The relatives of the fallen? Snap was more concerned of their mental state than his own. And what of the dead? He could only hope that their deaths were swift and painless.

Snap wished he could remember what happened. He wished he remembered this party, what he had done there, who he spoke to, who was there...but he could remember nothing. He could barely even remember any invitation to the party. He knew his friends wouldn't lie, so there was indeed some kind of party. But he could not remember any specific details. He didn't know if he ever would remember.

He hoped that he would. He was the key to finding out this homical mystery. The family members and friends of the fallen deserved to know what happened to their loved ones. They deserved to know what happened, and who had taken them from them. They deserved some closure, some justice delivered to that horrible fiend.

But for now, he should rest. He was not going to get much done if he sat here, trying too hard to remember. He was going to get nothing more than a headache from that, and he was still shaken up from what happened. Only when he was more at ease and was in a better state of mind could he begin to ponder the possibilities of what took place.

"Hello, Snap." A voice called out to him. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

Snap turned his head. He hadn't heard Sandra opening the door. He hadn't heard her walking in. She had been silent, moving lightly along the ground. Seeing his friend approach him, Snap offered a small smile.

"Hello, Sandra." He lifted up his hand and waved to her. "Nice to see you."

"Yes, and it's good to see you, too." Sandra paused. "Alive..." Snap winced at that tone of voice. Sandra looked at him up and down, her red eyes taking in the details of his condition. "Have you healed much? You were out for a while."

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah. Though there's still a lot of pain."

This did not seem to surprise Sandra. "I'm not surprised. There was a lot of damage. A couple of weeks is not going to be enough to erase the pain." She lowered her eyes, looking at Snap sadly. "If I could, I would take away your pain for you. But I cannot."

Snap said, "Don't worry. You being here, talking with me, that's good enough." Sandra returned the smile.

Snap understood Sandra's frustration. A lot of people wished they could just heal others. That would be such an amazing gift. Snap imagined that such a power could be used to improve a dire situation. Imagine...being able to heal horrific injuries through the shere power of will...

But such a thing was a fantasy. In all his years of being in ChalkZone, Snap never once met a zoner with such a power. If there were any zoners, they were either too far away, or they simply didn't care to use their power to help anyone. Snap chalked it up to kids thinking healing was a lame power. An unfortunate belief, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Oh well. They had a healer of their own. Time. Sure it would take much longer, but time would heal the physical wounds eventually. With time, many will bounce back, and return to a life as fulfilling as they possibly could manage. Well, except for an unlucky few...

Snap was pulled out of his thoughts when Sandra spoke up again.

"How long do you think you'll be in here?" Sandra asked.

Snap thought about this for a moment. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he recalled what the doctor had told him. He then shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know. The doctors believe it could take a month, but they aren't certain."

Sandra widened her eyes at this. "A month? That long?" She leaned her head forward. "Are you certain?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Snap said, lowering his head. "I wish it wasn't so..."

Sandra nodded her head in agreement. "Unfortunately these things can't be helped. All we can do is be grateful for what we got." She touched his shoulder gently. "Be happy you're still alive."

Snap knew Sandra was right. He should be grateful. He could have easily lost his life in that explosion. It was a miracle that he even survived. It was also a miracle that he had woken up at all. After a week of being unconscious, he was certain that some people began to lose hope. Being out cold for that long... He could only imagine the worry that he put his friends through.

At least he was awake now. He had finally opened up his eyes, and now, his prognosis was much better. He could now communicate with the doctors, and they can use this to treat him more efficiently. He still would be trapped here for a long time, but his recovery should speed up a tad.

"Well I can't stay here long. I do apologize about that, Snap." Sandra gave him a saddened expression, her ears lowering a little. "But I can't leave my restaurant unattended for that long."

"Don't worry, I understand." Snap said. He understood that Sandra was probably worried about her store being targeted by that fiend, causing more death and destruction. She wanted to be there to make sure that didn't happen. "It was nice of you to visit me, even if it wasn't that long."

Sandra seemed to beam at this. "I'm glad you understand." She began to turn around. "I do hope you feel better soon."

Before Sandra got far, Snap quickly told her, "I am sorry the party didn't turn out quite as you had planned."

Sandra's reaction was not what he had expected. The dragon zoner paused in her tracks. She turned her head, looking over at Snap with a confused expression. "...party..?"

Snap looked at her in confusion. He tilted his head to one side. "Y-Yeah...remember?" He held out his hands in gesture. "You invited me to a party. It was to be in my honor. Then there was an explosion and..."

"Snap..." Sandra's voice cut him off. It was filled with confusion and worry. "There was no party."

At this, Snap's mind froze, unable to believe what he just heard. There was no party? Then..what about his friends? Didn't they say there was a party? And if there wasn't one, who did those zoners end up in that building in the first place? Snap could feel his hands heat up as frustration swept through him. Just..what had happened..?

Snap continued to stare at Sandra, her words echoing in his head. She didn't seem like she was lying, and why would she do that? Snap had never known her to be a deceitful zoner. If she was the one who threw the party, then she'd know if it existed or not. And if she said it didn't...

..then just what actually happened that day...?

Sandra looked at him empathetically. "I know you're confused and frightened. After what you were through, that is to be expected. But don't worry, Snap." Her smile spread. "All will become clear eventually."

Snap did not answer her. He watched in silence as his dragon friend left the room, leaving him alone. As the door was shut behind her, Snap lowered his gaze. Many thoughts ran through his head. The most prominent one buzzed around, refusing to leave him alone: if there was no party, then could that mean that it had been a trap the whole time? An act of revenge from the culprit who built the mystery machine? The thought filled his heart with ice.


	7. Issues Of Remembrance

If I can remember, to know this will conquer me.

-Remember, Disturbed

sss

Rudy walked down the hallway slowly. Penny was beside him, and just like him, she was silent. Mint was not by his side, and instead was a little further back, his mind occupied with multiple thoughts. Rudy did not try to speak to his friends. He knew they were all thinking the same thing he was. They were thinking about Snap.

It had been twenty-four hours since Snap had woken up. Twenty-four hours since he had pulled himself out of that unconscious slump that he had been in. Neither of them knew what to expect as they approached his room. Would he have improved a bit? Or would he fall back down, once again becoming lost in his silent mind? Would they have to wait another two weeks before he'd wake up again?

Rudy tried to stay positive. He tried to assure himself that the doctors would surely not allow that to happen. The moment Snap's condition worsened, they'd do what they could. They would not want Snap to fall unconscious again, and he knew they would take the necessary steps to prevent that.

But he still couldn't help but worry that something might happen. He might be acting a little irrational. Snap was in the hospital and safe. But...he and the others thought he was safe before, and look what happened...

He knew none of them could have known about that explosion happening. There was no way they could have prepared for it. Some things just happen, and there was little he could do about it. But the fact that it had happened at all still chilled his blood. The idea that someone set this up right under their noses...

Rudy and his friends, when they discussed before coming to the ChalkZone hospital, had come to realize just how clever this zoner must be. How could someone set up a place to explode without causing suspicion? There was no way this zoner could have escaped unseen; there was almost always someone in ChalkZone City, even when it was nighttime in their world. But if this zoner was seen, and yet not reported, it must mean he or she was quite subtle, able to do what they wanted without looking dangerous or unusual. For someone to pull that off, they all realized it had to be someone quite intelligent.

But that brought them no closer to solving this case. Their only suspects whom they knew were smart didn't add up. Skrawl was locked away. Jacko only wanted a bride. Craniac 4 merely wanted to use the magic chalk to create his own stuff. Except for Skrawl, they didn't really aspire so much to rule ChalkZone, and had little reason to target the zoners.

Even if this was the work of Skrawl, it didn't seem to be his style. Skrawl had little reason to hide his involvement in attacks. In fact, he relished in the idea of zoners knowing what he had done. If they didn't know it was him, he'd probably be offended. So that ruled him out too, even if he wasn't arrested, even when he ultimately escaped, which Rudy had no doubt he would.

There was another possibility, one that chilled them to the bone. What if someone from the Real World were involved..?

That would explain why nobody seemed to really notice this trap until it was too late. It would explain a mystery machine appearing out of nowhere, causing problems. It would fit in like a glove.

There was a problem with that theory, however, that Penny pointed out to him and Mint. If a human from the Real World were responsible, then how come they hadn't heard any reports about it? They knew of few people who would keep something like an alternate dimension a secret. The discovery would be all over news. It would be the talk of the town. There'd be no way they could miss that.

On top of that, only two adults really knew about ChalkZone. Vinnie Raton and Terry Bouffant. But they were both still in jail, as they had been arrested a couple years ago for assaulting Mint, who at the time was still recooperating in the hospital. Even they were to get out, they didn't have enough knowledge of ChalkZone to launch much of an attack. They didn't even know about ChalkZone City. So it couldn't be them.

So there was only one thing they could conclude. They were dealing with a newcomer who was quite intelligent, who had no qualms of who they attacked, and had sneak skills unlike any they had ever seen before.

Rudy hoped that they would find out something soon. They hadn't really found out much during Snap's time of being unconscious. The fact that it has been two weeks and still no new information unsettled him, but he and he others weren't willing to give up. They hoped that, by uncovering what happened to Snap, they will uncover the culprit and stop them from spreading more damage and destruction.

They will not tolerate another attack again. All those zoners died for no good reason. They suffered and perished, and their loved ones are left in shock. It boiled Rudy's blood, and he knew his friends felt the same way. What kind of cruel monster could purposely inflict this kind of trauma on others? And for what? Just because they could?

Rudy clenched his hand in a fist, trying to vent out as much energy as he could. He did not want to look so aggressive to his friend. Snap had just woken up the other day, and he didn't want to do anything to frighten him. The poor guy was shaken up already as it was. He didn't need to give him more of a reason.

They soon reached Snap's room. He looked over at Penny and Mint. They nodded to him, and he turned to knock on the door. The fact that there was no answer did worry him a little, and he casted a nervous glance to the others. But he dismissed as Snap probably sleeping; he imagined he was likely tired as of late and would want to rest up.

However, upon opening the door, he, Mint, and Penny were greeted with a sight that horrified and shocked them.

Snap was...he was trying to get out of bed... It was as if he had no idea he was injured... The zoner was attempting to adjust himself on the bed, pulling and pushing away the wires that were still hooked up to him. He was pushing himself closer to the edge, his arms flailing as he tried to crawl out of bed.

The sight of this caused Rudy and the others to exchange glances of horror. They turned back to Snap. Wasting no time, they rushed towards their friend. Snap didn't seem to notice them as they approached. By the time they reached him, one of his legs, wrapped up in bandages, was over the bed. Before he could get further, they grabbed onto him and began to pull him back into the bed.

Snap struggled, his eyes wide in fear. For a split second, he didn't recognize who they were. After a few seconds, he settled down as he realized who they were. He smiled in greeting, but soon frowned in confusion.

"Guys? What are you doing?" Snap asked. "I was just going to get a drink of water."

"Snap, you can't get up." Penny said, her voice stern. Snap tilted his head in confusion. "Don't you remember? You were injured."

"I...am injured..?" Snap breathed softly. His body went lax as he began to process this information. He looked left and right, as if he didn't know what they were talking about. "What..do you mean...?"

This chilled their hearts. Did Snap really not remember what happened? They had just spoken to him the other day. He couldn't have forgotten so ...

Snap grabbed onto Rudy's arm, gently pulling on it. Rudy looked down. He could see the expression in Snap's eyes. He looked so helpless and scared... and Rudy knew that at any second, it was going to get worse. Snap was giving him a silent question, and the answer was going to terrify him. But he had to hear it.

"You were caught in an explosion about two weeks ago. You just woke up yesterday." Rudy explained, biting his lip. "You were the only survivor; the other zoners caught in the blaze perished. Your legs were badly burned and you will not be able to walk for a while."

At this, Snap's eye bulged and his body started to shake. He looked at Rudy, Mint, and Penny, his frantic eyes darting around, trying to see if they were lying or not. All they could do was lower their heards and look back at him sadly. This did little to comfort Snap. The zoner's shivering increased and his breathing got quicker. He lifted up the sheets with one strong thrust of his arm, and upon seeing his bandaged legs, his face paled. Then he appeared to realize he was in pain.

Snap let out a cry of pain, falling back on the bed. He tried to clutch his legs to himself, but the slightest movement sent bouts of pain through his limbs. He started to whimper and cry in the bed, shaking so hard it nearly affected the bed he was laying on. Rudy, Penny, and Mint held onto Snap firmly, but gently, not wanting him to hurt himself.

"No..no...I-It can't be true... No, that's impossible! You're lying!" Snap cried, his eyes wide in terror. "That couldn't have happened! I would have remembered!"

"Snap!" Mint shouted at him. "We wouldn't lie to you about this!"

Penny nodded in agreement. "Why would we give you false information about this?"

Snap didn't answer. He just thrashed on the bed, trying to get away from the pain. He let out loud cries of fear, and his heart rate had increased to the point where they could hear it against his chest, threatening to burst out. The three tried to settle their friend down, but he was in such a panicked state, their words did little to calm him down.

After what felt like several minutes, one of the nurses passed by the room. She immediately froze and gasped at what she saw. She rushed in towards him, her eyes focused on Snap.

"What happened?!" The nurse demanded, her voice having a startled edge to it.

"He tried to climb out of bed, and then we told him what happened and he panicked!" Rudy cried, speaking faster than he had intended to.

"Keep him down!" The nurse shouted. "Don't let go!"

Rudy resisted the urge to tell the nurse they weren't planning to let go, and to tell her to hurry up. He kept quiet, holding Snap down with Mint and Penny's help. The nurse rushed over to a nearby cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of some kind of fluid. She got out a fresh needle and filled it with the bottle's contents. She tapped the tip a couple of times and then she rushed towards them.

Rolling up the sleeve of Snap's hospital gown up his arm, the nurse pushed the needle into his shoulder. She injected the entire contents of the needle into his flesh. She pulled away and with a stern look from her face, silently instructed the humans to keep hanging on.

Slowly, Snap's struggles decreased. The zoner became increasingly calm as the drug took effect. Rudy and the others slowly loosened their grip. They were careful about this, worried that Snap might try something again. When it became apparent their friend wasn't going to try to jump out again, they let go entirely. Now Snap laid there, a tranquil expression on his face, his breathing returned to normal.

Rudy couldn't help but look at his friend sadly. He had not expected his friend to panic like that. He hadn't expected him to, the day after waking up, try to crawl out of bed. He hadn't expected that he needed to be tranquilized yet again to keep him from hurting himself.

This worried him deeply. How many panic attacks was his friend going to have before he can relax? Would he keep having these moments so long as he didn't remember what happened? Why didn't he remember? Was it possible there was more damage than they thought?

They already had this scare the other day. They all suspected some damage when Snap admitted he remembered no party. But they realized that maybe they had all jumped the gun; after all, Snap had just woken up. It'd take time for him to remember.

But then today happened, and Snap had forgotten that they had even visited him the other day. It was like, to him, that event never happened.

It may still be too early to call anything yet. Maybe he was still exhausted from what happened. Maybe his brain still needed some time to recooperate. But the fear was still there. The possibility still existed. And the only way to confirm it or not was to have a brain scan.

The thought was scary, but it would banish the unknown, as they would know for certain if anything was wrong or not. It had to be done, and fast.

Before they had a chance to talk to the nurse, before anyone could say anything, a loud voice suddenly echoed in the room.

"What happened here?!"

Rudy and the others turned their heads to see Dr. Crobat standing in the door way. His feathered hand was on the doorway, supporting his body. His eyes were wide in horror, his beak dropped open. He stared at the scene in shock, his tiny pupils moving from Snap, then to Rudy.

When no one answered, the zoner tried again, this time, using more volume to his voice. "What happened?!"

After a bit of stunned silence, everyone still trying to comprehend what happened, Penny managed to explain the situation to the doctor. "We had come by to visit our friend. When we came in, we saw that he was trying to climb out of bed. We attempted to stop him, but when he found out that he was caught in an explosion, he freaked out." Penny bit her lip. "He..he didn't even..." She stared at the doctor with glassy eyes. "He didn't remember."

The doctor took in a sharp gasp at this. "You mean he does not remember yesterday's events?" At this, all three of them shook their heads. The doctor exchanged a worried look with the nurse, who still stood near the bed. He looked back at the children. "This could be serious. I could let it slip if he didn't remember when he woke up the other day, but he suffered no traumatic injuries before he went to bed last night. He should have been able to remember...unless..."

Chilling silence fell upon the room. Everyone glanced at each other nervously, and then looked down at Snap. The only way any of them could think that Snap wouldn't remember yesterday's events...

...was if he suffered far worse brain damage than initially thought...

"No.." Rudy shook his head, not wanting to believe it to be true. "It couldn't be.."

"Rudy..." Penny placed her hand on his shoulder. Rudy jerked himself away from her. Penny looked at him worriedly.

Despite not wanting to believe it, Rudy knew there was only one thing that could be done. He walked over to the doctor, grabbed his shoulders, and said, "You're..you're going to do a scan, right? You can see if anything is wrong, can't you?"

Dr. Crobat opened his mouth to speak, but soon shut it. This did little to comfort Rudy. His grip on the doctor zoner tightened. The zoner began to wince, but Rudy hardly seemed to notice. Right now, the only thing on his mind was finding out what was wrong with Snap. His body shook as the possibilities of permanent brain damage entered his mind. He had hoped that they had been too quick to judge the other day, but now this happened and..

No..it couldn't be true. Please, don't let it be true. Snap...no he couldn't be brain damaged. No... Rudy tried his best to fight against the tears that formed in his eyes. They moved down his cheeks as his grip on the zoner loosened up. Dr. Crobat took a few steps back, watching the boy with a cautionary expression.

"We will do what we can." Dr. Crobat said. His voice was firm, but gentle. He reached over and gripped Rudy's shoulder. "If we find anything wrong, we will let you know right away. Okay?"

Rudy nodded his head, but remained silent. The doctor gave him a small smile and turned around. He turned to Snap's side. He looked down sadly at the zoner, hardly noticing the worried looks that Penny and Mint were giving him. The boy was so preoccupied, he barely registered what was going on behind him.

Dr. Crobat turned his attention to the nurse. "Prep the patient for a scan!" He barked.

"Right now?" The nurse looked over at the children nervously. "Shouldn't we...?"

"We need to find out what's going on stat!" Dr. Crobat said sternly. "Wheel the patient to the scan room! Now!"

Rudy realized what was going on when Snap was suddenly pulled away from his sights. He and his friends moved back in surprise. They watched as the nurse pulled Snap out of the room slowly. Their friend was still under the effects of the drugs and didn't seem to be aware of what was going on. He was just laying there, looking like he was about to slip into unconsciousness.

Rudy and his friends tried to say something before their friend disappeared, but it was too late. The nurse got the zoner out of the room, and they could hear the wheels churning as she pushed him down the hallway. They remained still for a few seconds, and then moved forward, wanting to be with their friend for when the procedure was done.

However, they didn't get far when Dr. Crobat held out his wing arm, blocking their path. They stared at the zoner in confusion, and then glared at him. In the moment of their panic for Snap, they couldn't understand why the doctor was doing this.

"Let us pass!" Mint demanded, pointing a finger at the doctor.

"That's our friend who..." Rudy said before Dr. Crobat cut him off.

"You can see him after the scans are done." The bird zoner glared back at the children. He made it clear that he was not going to back down easily. "You can stay in here and wait for your friend if you'd like." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "It will take a while. A couple hours." He looked back at them. "If you cannot stay here for that long, then I recommend you head back home and come back later."

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. "Do you think we will leave our friend alone in this place? Are you crazy?! We.."

Dr. Crobat held up his hand. "You will be of no use to us in the scan room. You have no knowledge of these machines. All you'll be doing is being in the way of nurses that need to traverse through the room during the process. Sorry, but you must wait here."

Rudy clenched his teeth. He tried to say something else, but he soon felt a presence next to him. He could see Penny standing there. Her arm was barely brushing up against his. She looked in his direction, eyes narrowed slightly. She shook her head slowly, and Rudy looked at her in confusion.

"He's right. As much as I hate to admit it, we shouldn't be back there." Penny said. "It takes a lot of time and patience to get these scans done. Delays aren't an option. If we slow them down just a little, it may affect the results." She paused for a moment, looking at Rudy, watching his expression. "I'm sorry, Rudy. We have to stay behind." She looked at him sympathetically. She smiled the best she could. "But don't worry. We'll see Snap again soon."

At this, slowly, Rudy's face softened up. There was a part of him that still wanted to argue with the doctor. A part of him that still wanted to go fater his friend. But his rational side was taking over now. He knew that would not be the best move.

Letting out a sigh and lowering his head slightly, Rudy nodded a couple of times. "You're right, Penny. We...can't go." He sighed, and looked over at the bird doctor. "I'm sorry. I just..."

"Don't apologize. You are just worried for your friend. That's perfectly understandable." Dr. Crobat gave a small smile to the boy. "Like I said, if we find anything wrong, we'll report to you immediately."

Rudy nodded, and he and his friends watched as the zoner left the room, following the direction the nurse had gone. They stood in the room in silence for a few moments. Then Rudy spoke up.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Rudy asked. He looked over at his friends. "Do you want stay in this room and wait for them to wheel Snap back, or should we go home and come back at a later time?"

Penny and Mint stared at him, looking a bit shocked that he needed to ask that. Their answer is just what he had expected from them.

"Of course we wouldn't mind waiting here." Penny said. "We have time. And this is our friend we're talking about. I'm sure he will appreciate us staying behind and waiting for him."

"The drug will probably be worn off by then. He'll be pretty confused. It is best if we stay here so we can tell him what happened." Mint said, nodding his head in agreement to Penny's statement. "Maybe we can help keep him calm so he won't freak out like he did just now."

Rudy winced briefly at that. The memory was still recent, still fresh on his mind. He had never seen Snap react that way before...well except for one time. When Snap was brought into the hospital years ago, the poor guy had been in so much pain, he'd react even when unconscious. When he and Penny went in to see him, the zoner had freaked out and screamed for them to stop the pain. It had taken a while of comforting him before he settled down. This..reminded him of that.

He noticed the look in Mint's eyes. He bit his lip, realizing the kid must have remembered that incident as well. Not wanting him to stay on that unpleasant memory for long, Rudy quickly said, "Yeah, I agree that's the best course of action. I...would feel bad about leaving Snap alone right now."

Mint nodded his head slowly, lowering his head. "Poor guy would be so scared."

"But he'll feel safe around us." Penny interjected. "And the doctors will find out what's wrong and they will be able to help him."

Rudy and Mint nodded at this. But they all couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. What if the doctors don't find anything? What if they do find something, but it's not treatable? How would they comfort their friend then?

Only time could tell. For now, all they can do is wait and hope for the best.

sss

Dr. Crobat looked down at the tranquilized patient with great concern. He looked up and down Snap's body, taking care to make sure that he was still under the drug's effects. In order to do this scan properly, he can't be moving. Thankfully, the drug shouldn't hide anything in the scan, so they can still perform it without rousing the patient.

Dr. Crobat had worked in this hospital for a long time and seen so many patients. Despite the fact that zoners didn't die from longevity, that didn't mean they were injured less. He saw as many patients as a doctor from the Real World would see. And he saw all types of injuries, including some he doubt the humans would be familiar with.

But even in his experience, Snap's case still unsettled him. He wasn't even sure how the zoner survived the explosion. The other patients died before they could even get to the hospital, any that may have made it, he was certain they passed away before any advanced treatment could be given. How was it that Snap survived, but the others did not?

He stared down at the patient, watching as the nurses prepped him up for the scan. The zoner was placed on the stiff board, his arms and legs and head shackled in to keep him from moving, just in case. In a few seconds, he would be put into the machine, and the scan results would come in.

In the back of his mind, he replayed the scenario over and over in his head. He knew that Snap was in the same building as the others, not far actually. He would have experienced the same horrific blaze, and he had some burn injuries, most prominent on his legs. Yet some of the zoners had worse burns, suggesting they were closer to the fire. In fact, all the other zoners had worse burns, their skin so charred that large portions would have had to be removed.

But Snap...his burns were still bad, but the legs could be saved. Some skin grafting, and over time, they'd be good as new. It was clear that Snap had been further away from the blast. But why would he be far enough away, but no one else would?

Dr. Crobat thought back to the report he had gotten. He reread it mentally over and over. There was only one thing he could think of that would explain why Snap wasn't as badly injured.

He had been moving away from the blast, trying to escape it.

But why only him? Why was he only one trying to leave? Why weren't the others? It was almost as if...

..as if he had advanced knowledge of the explosion...

But that was impossible. There was no way Snap could have known. If he did, he would have had everyone evacuate. Yet..the thought wouldn't leave him. Snap being further way suggested that he knew the explosion was to take place, and if he didn't tell anyone about it, then that meant that...

Snap had been the one to set up the explosion.

Dr. Crobat shuddered at the thought, cold ice moving through his body. He tried to push away the unpleasant thoughts. There was noway that could be true. Snap would never do something like this...would he..?

Dr. Crobat could feel his stomach twist in knots at the probability. He didn't want to think that Snap would go rogue and do something like this. He just...didn't seem to be that kind of zoner. Nothing about him ever caused an alarm bell to ring off in his mind. Nothing about him after told Dr. Crobat to be cautious of him. Snap was just...Snap. A friendly, welcoming zoner who had always been so nice to everyone.

As unpleasant as it was, though, he knew he couldn't dismiss the idea. When it came to solving this crime, he knew the detectives are going to want every possible angle. If Snap does become a suspect, then he would have to let him be interrogated, despite his condition. For now, only he had any thoughts like this, but he knew it was just a matter of time before someone brought up something.

He hoped it wasn't true. He hoped he was just overreacting. But..the possibility was still there. Snap could have led the zoners in there and set off the bomb or whatever he used, and tried to get away. Why he would do that, he wasn't sure. If he did do that, then they would find out why. Eventually.

He thought about bringing this up to those three children. Maybe they could shed some light on the issue. But for now, he decided to hold it off until he had more of a reason to suspect Snap. Plus, he knew how sensitive people can be. If he asked the wrong questions, those three could get defensive. Starting a fight was the last thing he wanted to do. He will have to tread lightly, otherwise he'll put the whole mission into jeopardy.

"Sir." A voice called out to him. The doctor lifted up his head, pointing his beak towards who had spoken. "We are ready."

He realized it was the head nurse. She was standing in front of him. Behind her, he could see that Snap had been loaded into the machine, only his legs sticking out. He nodded his head, narrowing his eyes. Knowing they couldn't be in the same room, they and the other nurses moved into the back room, where they could watch everything.

Dr. Crobat stood behind the head nurse as she prepared the scanner. He watched as she pressed the buttons in such rapid succession. He then glanced over at the machine, watching as the buttons lit up as the scan was beginning.

As the machine roared to life, as the machine began its scanning, Dr. Crobat stood there and waited. When the results came in, they would know for certain what's going on with Snap's mind. Then from there, they could figure out an affective treatment. He hoped it wasn't too serious. Regardless if Snap was the culprit or not, he was still the key to finding out just what happened, and how they can prevent another incident like this from happening again.

sss

Penny shook her head in disbelief. "You..can't be serious right..?"

Dr. Crobat's eyes were furrowed in concern. He had his head lowered, sadness etched onto his features. "I'm sorry, but the scans do not lie."

Penny looked over at her friends. They all had a disbelieving look on their faces. Eyes wide, mouths open. They all wanted to think the doctor was making this up, despite how ridiculous that was. They wanted to think that there was some kind of big mistake, that soon someone would come in and correct him.

But none of that happened. Dr. Crobat just looked at them sympathetically. He could feel his feathered hand on her shoulder, a clear attempt to comfort her. Penny just looked at it, and lowered her head, her mind reeling from the information he just gave them.

It couldn't be true, could it? No, there had to be..something... Snap wouldn't... No.. She shook her head, having a hard time accepting what Dr. Crobat had told them.

"Are you sure nothing came up on the scan...?" Penny whispered softly. She looked into the doctor's eyes in desperation. "Are you absolutely positive..?"

Dr. Crobat furrowed his eyebrows and gave a firm nod of the head. "I'm afraid so. We ran multiple scans on your friend. We were quite thorough." He turned his head to the side, his arms folding behind his back. "We just can't find anything wrong with him. There's...no reason why he shouldn't remember. There's no damage in that part of his brain."

"But..that doesn't make sense..." Rudy said. Penny looked over at him. Despite the fact that he didn't want Snap to be brain damaged, the fact that he wasn't and yet was still having memory issues was more frightening to Rudy. It meant there was an unknown factor in here, one that even the doctors weren't aware of. "Maybe there was just one thing? Something so small that..."

Dr. Crobat shook his head. "I'm afraid not, kid." He gritted his beak. "We looked thoroughly. If anything was wrong, we would have noticed it, no matter how small."

"So..that means that Snap really...?" Mint didn't finish his sentence.

The doctor nodded his head once. "Yes. That means that something else is going on. Something is not adding up." He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at each of the children. "If any of you think of some kind of explaination that we could explore, let us know, because we would love to hear it." He glanced down at Snap. "I do not want to believe that Snap is lying to us."

Penny felt her heart twist at that subtle accusation. She felt her stomach burn, emotion growing in her belly. She looked down at Snap, who was now sleeping on the hospital bed, looking quite peaceful, and then back at the doctor. What he was implying...

Unable to stop herself, she narrowed her eyes and walked closer to the doctor. He sensed her anger and moved back, giving her some space. Rudy and Mint said anothing as Penny advanced on the zoner.

When she reached him, she stared at him in the eyes and said, "...are you accusing Snap of something?"

Dr. Crobat's eyes widened and he held up his wing hands in front of himself in defense. "Wh-Why n-n-no! Of course not! I just..uh..." The zoner rubbed his hands nervously together, clencing his beak as he looked back at Snap. "I'm not really sure what to make of this case. That's all..."

Penny glared softly at him. "Snap is the most honest zoner we know. He would not lie to us about something ailing him. If he says he can't remember, then he can't remember. Okay?"

Mint nodded. "I see no reason why he would lie to us about this."

Rudy added in, "He's never done something like this before. I don't see why he would start now."

Dr. Crobat looked at them, and said, "I understand if my words had..unsettled you. I did not mean it. But..I still think you should be ready for some..unexpected results." He closed his eyes, shaking it from side to side. "It is not good to deny something just because you think it won't happen. Many people have gotten hurt or even killed this way."

Although the three children wanted to retort to that, though they wanted to continue to defend their friend, they knew, deep down, Dr. Crobat was correct. They would only make things worse if they denied a possibility simply due to feelings. If Snap was lying, then denying it would not make things better. They'd have to come to terms with it and accept it, no matter how much they hate it.

As much as they would not want it to be true, they kind of hope that someone was lying, be it their friend or someone from the hospital. They were still unnerved of the idea of Snap having amnesia and there not being any signs of damage.

But maybe they were overreacting. It had only been a day. Perhaps they needed to wait, give it some time. Maybe they should wait a few days and see how he is doing and see if there's any improvements in his memory. If he started to recover, then they didn't have to worry. But if he continues having memory issues, and if he still shows no sign of damage in his head, then they weren't sure what to think. By then, they'd know something was up, but they had absolutely no leads. And this terrified them.

"So..." Penny broke the silence. There was one thing she had to ask. It was the same thing she knew was on Rudy and Mint's minds as well. "What are you going to do for Snap?"

Dr. Crobat sucked in a breath. "Without any ailments to treat, I'm not sure what we can do." He looked down at Snap for a second before turning his attention Penny. "But the important thing is to make sure he doesn't hurt himself again. We don't want another incident of him climbing out of bed again."

Penny nodded. She felt a cold chill as she remembered that. If Snap had succeeded in placing just one foot on the ground, he would have been crippled by the pain and he would have fallen down. And when that happened, he would have indeed injured himself more. Something had to be done to prevent that. But what?

There was one though she had, and she didn't like it. "You're..not thinking of chaining him to the bed are you...?"

"What? Goodness no!" Dr. Crobat moved his hands in front of him, back and forth a few times. "That wouldn't be very practical! We don't want Snap to feel like he's a prisoner here."

"Then what do you have in mind?" Mint asked.

Rudy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If someone were here watching him, that could help. Someone who could make sure he did not try to climb out of bed.." He looked at his friends. "But it couldn't be any of us. We cannot stay here twenty-four hours a day, and we aren't mind readers. We won't know when he'd be awake. We won't be able to prepare to come into ChalkZone at the right time."

"That is true." Mint said, looking over at Rudy. "I do think you're onto something with having someone watch over him. But it would have to be someone who didn't have to be anywhere else. Someone who could afford to stay in this room all day long and do nothing but watch Snap."

"Fortunately, we have such a solution."

Penny and her friends looked over at the doctor, their eyes slightly widened. They had thought of the same thing as well? Minds can sometimes think alike.

The doctor turned his head to the side. He placed two feather fingers in his mouth and he blew on it. The whistling sound rang out through the room. The pitch was enough to make the human children cover their ears.

Seconds later, they heard the sound of pitter patter coming towards the room. Something large was headed in their direction. The three friends watched the door intently, seeing a large shadow moving along the walls. An elongated snout, a muscular neck, four legs..that was all they could make out at first. It wasn't until the creature popped its head in the doorway that they recognized what it was.

Penny recognized it as some ancient species of crocodile. The exact name escaped her mind, but the body shape was very much like an old species that lived millions of years ago. Unlike a modern crocodile, this creature stood on two longs. The mouth was long, but not to the point of a modern croc. The legs were bent more like a dinosaur's, but it's tail was not held up. It dragged along the ground and had ridges similiar to its modern equivilant. Each foot had five sharp claws, all of them looking ready to rip them apart at the first provocation.

The croc zoner had some kind of collar around its neck, making it look more like a pet than anything. This contrasted sharply with its feral appearance. Its mottled brown and green scaly body, and its amber eyes with slit pupils didn't exactly make it a createure they'd expect to be anyone's pet.

None of them made a move towards the croc. No one said a word to it. The crocodile moved in closer, its feet padding the ground as it got closer. It wasn't as large as they thought, standing about three feet tall at the shoulders and being about twice as long. But they were still cautious. Those jaws looked very strong. If it decided to bite...

"I'd like to introduce you all to Mosaic." Dr. Crobat said, a smile on his face.

"Mosaic?" Rudy asked softly, his eyes not tearing away from Mosaic.

Dr. Crobat nodded his head affirmatively. "She is a local resident here. Kind of new, but she already found her place here." Dr. Crobat reached down and patted her on the top of her head. "Don't worry. She will not bite you." The bird zoner stroked her along the back of her head and neck. Mosaic lifted up her leg and leaned towards the hand caressing her. "She is sentient...mostly."

"Mostly?" Penny narrowed her eyes in confusion. "How can she be mostly sentient?"

"Well she does have a sense of identity and is aware of her surroundings. She's smart." Dr. Crobat said. "But she is still an animal zoner. She still has those feral, wild instincts. She has tamed up quite a bit since she got here, so you are in no danger. Just..." He removed his hand and took a couple steps towards them. "..be mindful that she is still mostly animal. We don't want any misunderstandings."

"Okay. We understand." Rudy said. He turned his attention to Mosaic. "So..she will keep an eye on Snap?"

"Indeed." Dr. Crobat said. "She follows orders quite well. She'll remain by your friend's side and will stop him from getting out. See the collar?"

The doctor zoner motioned his head towards the collar. The three friends peered closely at it. They soon realized what the man was indicating. They hadn't seen it before, but there was a button on the collar. It was located on the front, against her throat, where it would be easy to push.

"She will press that button if Snap tries something. When she does, a nurse will come in stat." Dr. Crobat said. A smile stretched across his beak. "You have nothing to worry about."

"That's good." Mint said, looking from Snap, to Mosaic, then to Snap again. "At least he will have someone to watch over him."

"That does make me feel better." Rudy said. Penny nodded in agreement. "Will she also keep out any intruders?"

The sudden question caused the doctor zoner to take a step back. "Why? Do you think someone might come in?" His eyes were wide.

"We fear that Snap was targeted by whoever set up that machine." Rudy said, his voice bitter. He didn't look at the doctor as he continued. "The timing...it was just too coincidental... The culprit must have known that Snap was the one who destroyed their machine, and now they are making him pay for it..."

Penny looked sympathetically towards her friend. So did Mint. They both understood why Rudy was so upset. It was for the same reason they were upset. Someone deliberately targeted their friend. Because of whoever done this, Snap was going to be in a lot of pain for a long time. Even if it wasn't the culprit, some sick zoner still did this. And they couldn't prevent it. Despite their efforts, they couldn't stop this from happening. Rudy must feel so useless right now, poor guy.

She looked back down at Snap. At least he was in a hospital where he was safe. She had no doubts that Mosaic could do something to help keep him safe. But there were other zoners in this area that could further ensure her friend's safety. The machine was gone, so they had no worries, for now, of a break in. Snap would be fine here.

After the bit of silence, Dr. Crobat cleared his throat, getting their attention. "I can assure you nothing will happen." He looked directly at Rudy as he said this. "If anyone is coming after your friend, they will have us to contend with. You can trust us. Nothing will happen to your friend."

Rudy stared at the doctor, a slight glare on his face. Not from anger towards him, but towards whoever had done this to Snap. Then his expression softened up and he gave a smile to the zoner. "Thank you."

Dr. Crobat nodded his head. "You're welcome." After a couple moments, he said, "Would you..like some time with your friend?"

"That would be nice, yes." Mint said.

"It would be much appreciated." Rudy replied.

Dr. Crobot looked down at Mosaic. "Would you like me to take Mosaic out? Or is she good here?"

"She can stay." Penny said. She reached down and gingerly touched her on the head. She felt how smooth yet hard her skin was, being a crocodile and all. "I don't see a reason why she has to leave."

"Very well then." Dr. Crobat said. He turned around and raised a hand up, waving at them. "I'll give you some time to stay here with your friend. I'm sure that, when he wakes up, he will appreciate the company." With that, the bird zoner left the room, leaving them alone with Snap.

sss

"I can't believe I almost lost track of the time." Rudy lamented. "My parents will be home soon and..."

"Don't worry about it." Mint said, putting his hand on Rudy's shoulder. "We all lost track of time. It wasn't just you."

"Yeah I know. Still..I wish I kept a better handle on the time so we wouldn't have had to rush out so suddenly." Rudy sighed softly. He still felt guilty, no matter how hard he tried to tell himself that everything was fine. "Well at least we left with enough time to get back to our homes before our parents realize we're gone."

Penny and Mint nodded their heads in agreement. There was no way they would contradict that statement. They both knew it was true.

"It was a good thing it's a saturday. We wouldn't have been able to convince our parents we were sick, as well as tell our parents the same thing." Penny flinched as she said that. "Then we would have had a possibility of wires being crossed. They could have called each other and find out that we weren't at either place."

"Then we would have been in big trouble." Mint lamented. "I know my dad would have been quite strict if he found out I was out goofing around with you guys. My mom wouldn't be so happy either."

"We'll just have to manage our time better." Rudy said. "Set aside time to come here and visit Snap without triggering any suspicions from our parents. I believe we can do that, right?" His friends gave a nod. He smiled at this.

Rudy still didn't like the idea of leaving his friend alone in the hospital. Now that he was awake, now that it was clear that something was wrong with his memory, he wanted to stay there more than ever. He wanted to hold him and tell him it was going to be okay. He wanted to do what he could to help him feel better.

Snap hadn't even woken up once when he came back. They had spent about two hours there, sitting with him, being mostly quiet. They talked a bit, including what they were going to do and how they were going to try to find the culprit. But no matter how long they stayed there with Snap, the zoner never woke up. He was sleeping soundly on the bed, Mosaic positioning herself at the foot of it, on duty.

While Rudy was glad to see his friend in a peaceful state, he couldn't help but worry for Snap. He had hoped that he would wake up before they had to go so they could speak to him. He wanted to let Snap know they would be back later. But fate had different ideas and they had to go, despite his desperation to want to stay.

At least Snap was safe now. He and his friends could rest assured that Mosaic would keep Snap from hurting himself. As they left, he had looked over his shoulder, and he could see the look of determination in her eyes. She would not let harm come to him. He was certain.

"I still don't understand." Mint said. He tilted his head back, his eyes looking up towards the sky. The others looked at him, waiting for him to answer. "Why would someone waste all this time destroying many zoners, and yet leave Snap live?"

"They probably meant to kill him." Penny pointed out.

"Or maybe not." Mint said.

Rudy looked over at him. Like Penny, he was confuseed by what he was implying. "What do you mean, Mint?"

"I mean, don't you think it's odd that Snap was able to survive what others could not?" Mint raised his arms up, confusion written on his face. "It doesn't make any sense. Why would the other zoners, some even larger than Snap, die, but he survive? Snap's wounds were even different, from what we were told."

Rudy and Penny looked at each other. They turned back to their friend.

Penny bit her lip. "So...you're saying that Snap surviving was...done on purpose..?"

Mint stared at her for a few seconds. Then he nodded his head. "Yeah. I'm not sure why yet they'd leave him alive but...something tells me it's nothing good."

The three friends fell silent after that. The possibilities of what Mint implied buzzed around their heads. Their blood cooled at the thought. If this was done on purpose, then that meant that the culprit wasn't done yet. They would strike again soon. And if that's the case, then they would have to be extra vigilant.

None of them noticed the pair of red eyes watching them from a distance.


	8. All According To Plan

You always wanted people to remember you, to leave your little mark on society! Don't you know your wish is coming true today?

-The Game, Disturbed

sss

Sandra stood there in silence, watching as the three children walked through ChalkZone. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to draw any attention from the humans. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and only when she knew they were leaving ChalkZone did she turn in a new direction and begin heading that way.

She didn't want them to be present while she spoke to Snap. It was about time she visited him again, and she needed to make sure everything was falling into place. If she showed up while they were there, it would be hard for her to say the right things without triggering a suspicious response from them. It was going to be hard, but she needed to avoid contact with the humans as much as she can, only seeking out Snap when he was alone.

She wondered how he was doing. It had been two weeks since he was in the hospital, and in all that time, he was unconscious. This surprised her. She hadn't meant to knock him out for this long. It was pretty grating on her to have to wait until he woke up before she could do anything. But eh, there was nothing she could do.

She heard rumors that he was awake now. It was hard to know at the time. She wasn't certain how fast rumors spread, and there was the chance that it was an exaggeration. But when she saw Snap and saw he was awake...

Soon it would be time to begin the next phase. But for now, she'll hold that off. She wanted to speak to him again. She kind of missed up. She was also curious to see how her plan was shaping up so far. If Snap still did not remember those events from two weeks ago, if he did not remember that she did this, then she was good.

She could feel her heart beating a little faster. She placed her hand on her chest plate, taking note that her earlier action caused it to still accelerate. She had to be careful of when she took this action; it could easily drain her unless she trained herself to concentrate more.

Sandra was glad she took the risk anyway. If she had allowed them to do the scan before she made her move... It would have surely complicated things. The doctors must continue to believe there is nothing wrong with the zoner, otherwise her plans would begin to fall apart. She couldn't have that.

The dragon zoner made her way towards ChalkZone City. She enjoyed the walk, the feel of the grass under her feet, the permanent blue sky overhead. She tilted her head back, smiling up towards some flying zoners that zipped by. Always a nice day here. She enjoyed walks out in the field like this. It helped her to relax her mind, and to mentally prepare herself for whatever course of action she'd have to take.

It didn't take her too long to reach the city. She began to traverse through it, walking along the sidewalks. She looked left and right, taking note of the zoners that were moving along. She stared intently at a few of them, her mind's gears turning. Seeing all these zoners reminded her of one thing.

Her restaurant.

She didn't like leaving it unintended for long, and she knew she was going to have customers soon. There were probably a lot of zoners lined up right now, waiting to have a bite of her food. She didn't want to disappoint them.

She didn't plan on staying with Snap for too long. Just long enough to see how he was doing and to make sure her plan was still progressing as she had wanted. If there is a slight deviation, she would have to analyze it, and figure out if she could use it to her advantage or if she would have to find a way to fix the anomaly. If she isn't careful, she could easily screw things up.

She made a turn onto another street and was immediately stopped. She felt herself slam against something and she staggered back. She wiped off her arms and glared at whoever had gotten in her way. Her glare softened up a little into annoyance when she realized who it was.

"Jyker... So nice to see you." Her voice wasn't the most sincere anyone had ever heard. "What brings you here?"

Jyker chuckled, eyeing Sandra up and down. "Well well well... Look who it is... How have you been..?"

Sandra growled softly at the zoner. Jyker was a spotted hyena zoner, standing on two legs and wearing a suit of some kind. He had an odd eye, which was a bit hard for her to describe to anyone. It was just...different, and rather unsettling to look at. He almost always had a grin stretched across his muzzle, fangs peaking out from his upper jaw. He had a spikey mane with blotches of dark color across his light grey fur.

Sandra took a step back away from the zoner. It wasn't like she was that frightened of him. Jyker proved to be more of an annoyance than anything. Still, he could jeopardize things if he ended up following her. She would need to lose him and fast.

"That isn't really your business, now is it?" Sandra said, her lips pulling up enough to show her teeth. This only seemed to amuse the hyena further. "I would suggest you stand aside. I have somewhere I have to be."

"Oh come now. Are you telling me I can't join you? Your old friend?" Jyker hissed softly.

Sandra growled at this. "We were never friends! You were the reason I was..." She paused. "...unable to stay at the last place I found to live."

Jyker chuckled at this. "You are bringing that thing up? Why!" He placed a paw against his mouth in mock shock. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you weren't happy with me!"

"I'm not!" Sandra barked. She tried to calm herself down. At this rate, she was never going to lose him. She took in a breath and sighed, closing her eyes. "Now...if you'll excuse me...I really have to go."

She turned and walked away, deciding to go a different, longer way to the hospital. She tried to ignore the dark chuckling behind her, and the few jeers Jyker tossed in her direction. Before she disappeared down another pathway, she heard him say one more thing before he, too, began to leave.

"I'd wish you the best of luck, but knowing you, that isn't going to be good enough. I hope you have fun here, Sandra, because you and I both know it ain't going to last!"

At that, Sandra couldn't move, her body freezing. She felt a chill go up her spine as her eyes bulged. Jyker's words echoed in her head, bringing her back to that incident not long after she had been created. Despite what she may have told Snap, this wasn't the first place she ended up. There was another area she had lived in...until the day it happened.

She didn't want to think about that right now, though. She had other things to worry about. Jyker was not going to follow her, and she doubted she would see him again for a while. The zoner tended to move around a lot, never staying in one spot for very long. She just to pick up the pace, and he wouldn't be able to find her and harass her. The sooner she was in the hospital, the sooner she'd start to feel better. She never thought she'd see the day when she would prefer seeing the white walls of a hospital over the fur from a fellow zoner.

She turned her thoughts back to her friend. She hoped Snap was awake now. She would be disappointed if she went to the hospital and didn't get a chance to speak to him. She missed talking to him. It was a bit lonely at the restaurant for some reason, despite the fact that she had a lot of customers, and that Snap had only ever gone there twice. Perhaps it was the conversations she missed; Snap was one of the more talkative customers. The others usually just got their meal and sat down. Snap, on the other hand, was willing to engage in conversation with her even while eating.

She thought about bringing him something to eat the next time she visited. She had not thought of it right now, but perhaps in her next visit, she will. Snap did enjoy her food, and he was still her friend, regardless of the punishment she was preparing for him. The punishment wasn't personal; it was merely a necessity.

Yeah, perhaps she would bring him over some kind of meat dish. She wasn't sure what yet, though. It all depended on what she could get for the specials. It would be her treat, and as a way of showing him there's no hard feelings in all of this.

Yet she could not directly tell him what she was going to do. He might overreact and misunderstand her intentions. If she ever had to tell him, though, she would. For now, it was her own little secret.

Up ahead, she could see the building's formations. She gave a soft smile at this. In a short while, she was going to see Snap again. Depending on how this meeting with him goes, it would affect how the next several weeks, even a month or so, depending, were going to be handled. Without saying a word, ignoring some curious zoners who stopped and attempted to speak to her, the dragon zoner quicked her pace, moving towards the hospital.

sss

"Ah...so this was the room, right?" Sandra asked, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

The nurse next to her nodded her head. "Yes. You were simply on the wrong floor. Easy mistake."

Sandra nodded her head. She waved her hand to the nurse. "Thank you." She watched as the zoner left before turning her attention to the door in front of her.

Sandra felt a little embarrassed. Her memory was usually better than this. She was so certain she had thought of the right number that she immediately went on her own to the room. This act was pretty stupid as it nearly got her captured by the security. She wasn't sure how she could have gotten the floors wrong; she had come here multiple times in the past. She should know it pretty well by now.

She had accidentally gone into an elderly zoner's room. She nearly freaked out when she saw that the zoner was preparing to be bathed by the nurses. She slammed the door and raced down the hallway until she hit against another nurse.

After she had calmed down enough, she was able to tell the nurse whom she was trying to see. The nurse realized her mistake, and led her towards the elevator. They went up one level and Sandra found herself being guided down the hallway, the nurse holding her hand like she was a child. She clenched her teeth at this, but did not fight back.

It hadn't taken her long to get to the right room. Sandra took mental note of what room Snap was in. She wished she had brought a paper and pen so she could write down the room number. Hopefully, she can remember this number when she got back to her restaurant.

She reached over, curling her fingers into a fist. She began to tap against the door with the tops of her fingers. She took a step back and waited. Her ears pricked up at a sound.

"Come on in."

That voice, though weak, it was unmistakeable. Definitely Snap's. She wasted no time. She grabbed onto the door knob and turned it, pushing the door completely open. She walked into the room, shutting the door behind her.

She could see her superhero friend laying on the bed. The front of it, where his head was, had been raised up. This provided support for his head so he could look around without much trouble. The blankets were pulled over him to just the middle of his chest, his arms resting on it. The zoner was wearing a hospital gown, to be expectd, but for some reason, still had his mask and cape on, making it easy to positively identify him.

She took note of the wires that hooked up to him, monitoring his vitals. Her eyes trailed along them, towards one of the machines. She could see the readings, and they appeared to be normal. She then looked at his feet, noting how, in the parts that were seen, they were covered in bandages.

Sandra approached the zoner at his bed side. She took position about a foot away. She locked eyes onto him. They stared at each other for several seconds. It took a little while before Sandra could think of what to say.

"Hello, Snap. How is everything going today?"

Snap smiled, though Sandra could tell it was forced. Something was clearly bugging him. "I'm...okay." His expression then saddened slightly, further giving away his real mood. "It's just..been a long day."

Sandra's ears lowered slightly and she bit her lip. She moved towards Snap, wearing a sympathetic expression. She sat down next to him on the bed. The zoner immediately scooched over, making room for her. Sandra looked down at him, trying to think of something to say. She looked left and right, fumbling her fingers together.

But it was Snap who ended up breaking the quietness, not her. Sandra immediately looked down towards the zoner as he cleared his throat to get her attention. When he saw that he had, he spoke.

"I..take it you heard the news?" Snap asked in a quiet voice.

Sandra tiled her head. "About what?"

Without looking at her, Snap said, "About me being the only survivor..."

Sandra was puzzled for a moment, as she thought she mentioned this the other day. But she soon realized about the amnesia thing and shook the thought out of her head. She looked down at the zoner empatheticaly. "Yeah..I have." She paused, and then asked, "I...thought you already knew about that."

At this, Snap closed his eyes. He clasped his hands together, his teeth gritted slightly. "Supposedly, I had been told about this before. The doctors told me what happened, and so did my friends when they visited me a short time ago. But I don't remember anything that happened yesterday. I don't remember seeing my friends, finding out what happened."

Sandra looked sadly at Snap. While this was indeed part of the plan, not letting him remember, it still tugged at her heart strings to see him this way. She reached over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Snap smiled at her briefly before turning his head away.

"I still can't believe it. They're gone...they're all gone..." Snap felt tears form in his eyes. He looked like he was trying his best not to cry, but it was clear that he was failing the effort. He closed his eyes and let out more tears, before he gave a loud sniffle and said, "I don't know why..."

"Why it happened?" Sandra asked cautiously.

Snap nodded. "Why it happened. Why I'm the one who survived. Why fate can be cruel." He tried to pull his legs up, but the pain stopped him. "All I wanted was to have some fun, but instead, even that was taken from me. Those zoners are all dead now, and it's all because of that..." Snap's eyes narrowed at this. "...that stupid culprit!"

Sandra's eyes widened at this. She sucked in a sharp breath. She did her best to hide her reaction from her friend. She looked down at Snap, doing what she could to continue looking sad and sympathetic, rather than shocked. "The one who built that machine?"

Snap nodded his head quickly. "Yes! They're the ones responsible for this! They were angry at me, and they wanted to hurt me! And they killed innocents in the process, all just to get back at me!"

It took so much of Sandra's mental strength to keep quiet at this. It was so tempting for her to calm Snap down and explain to him that it wasn't what he thought it was. This wasn't done out of malice, or out of anything personal. For her, it was merely business, and what she was doing was just a necessity. She could hate herself later, but this has to be done.

But Snap wouldn't understand. He would label her a monster. They all would. Once they find out what she was doing with Snap, what else she had been partaking in... They'd chase her all away. She felt her heart clench at the thought. She was not going to allow another incident like that happen. No...she wouldn't allow it.

Moving her arm further across Snap's shoulders, her hand getting a grip on him, she pulled him to herself. Snap pressed up against her, resting the side of his face against her shoulder. Sandra looked down at him, smiling softly as Snap appeared to relax, her warmth comforting him. She continued to hold him like this, and slowly, she could feel his heart rate start to slow down. Even as it became relaxed, she still did not let go, still feeling compelled to hang onto him.

"It will be okay." Sandra found herself saying. She wasn't sure what else to do. "I promise, it will be okay."

"Are you sure about that?" Snap asked softly, his gaze still low. "What if...?"

Sandra held onto him tighter. "It will be rough up ahead. I won't lie. But I promise, in the end, all your pain and worry will go away. And you'll never have to be scared of anything again."

Snap looked reassured by these words. He cuddled up against her, wincing as he moved one of his legs a little to be more comfortable. He wrapped his arms around her, and he rested his head against her armor-covered chest. "Thank you."

Sandra smiled at this, but said nothing. She kept her arms around him, letting him lay against her. She wanted to give him some peace of mind. He deserved it before things started to go down. The next few weeks or so weren't going to be easy for her. It has to be done, but that didn't mean she felt entirely comfortable with it. Sometimes doing the right thing was really hard, but it was better to do that than to let things go. She knew what the right thing to do was.

She had to make Snap truly sorry for what he had done to her. She had to make sure that he would never try such a thing again. If she let him off the hook...who knows what'll happen? She shuddered to think about it. Yes, this was the best path to take, despite how hard it was. In the end, everything would work out.

Even though Snap may never understand, she could rest easy at night knowing that she had done all she could for him and herself. Everyone was going to be better off once everything is set in motion. Even if they don't agree with her, she knew that everything would be just fine.

She tried to think of a good time to begin the next phase. She had been planning on doing it relatively soon, but she had already decided earlier to delay it a little. She wanted Snap to have some time to relax before she initiated this step. She knew it was going to be a rather hard step to start, and a difficult one for him to go through. Perhaps an extra few days will do. Yeah, that sounded like it could work out.

She hoped to begin the phase soon. It was going to be hard to start it. But once everything was settled and everything flowing, everything would fall into place. She would hardly have to make any sort of move herself; others would do that for her.

"I...am sorry the party didn't turn out quite like I had planned." Sandra said. Snap looked up at her, his eyes still holding confusion. It was clear he did not remember this, no matter how hard he tried. She could also detect fear in those eyes, making her suck on her lip. "I was hoping it would have turned out better. I wish I had gone back sooner. Maybe I could have prevented..."

"No." Snap shook his head. "You couldn't have known. I don't blame you for..whatever you were doing away from the party. Whatever you were doing, you couldn't have known that the place would have exploded."

"Neither could you." Sandra pointed out.

"Yeah...that's true." Snap nodded his head. "I guess I..just can't help but feel guilty. I mean...why me? Why am I the one to survive?" Snap shook his head. "It just isn't fair... All those zoners shouldn't have had to die!"

Sandra ticked her mouth in a small, faint smile. "I guess that's where you and I have a lot in common, my friend." She pulled him against her. "I found myself asking the same question. Why had this had to happen? Sometimes, there are no answers, and all we can do is move on." She looked at her friend in the eyes. "Do you understand me?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Snap replied, wiping away a tear from his eye. "I still wish that..."

Sandra raised up a feather finger, silencing him. "Wishing will not change anything. All we can do is move on."

As Snap nodded his head and fell silent, Sandra's thoughts went to the zoners that perished in the flames. She gritted her teeth at the memory. She could still hear their screams of pain, them crying out for help. She could still see their bodies burning on the ground, some looking so black, she couldn't even tell if they were still alive or not. The memories stung her, tugging away at her heart, making her chest hurt. It was so unfortunate that this had to happen...

But what other choice was there? She knew that, sometimes, great sacrifices have to be made. The only way to achieve her goals, what needed to be done, was to have Snap be the only survivor. She was not too happy that she had to let the others die, but it needed to happen. If any of them survived, they could tell a conflicting story, and that would jeopardize everything.

At least it was over for them. They were dead. They would no longer feel pain. It was all said and done. But for Snap...his suffering wasn't going to be over for a while. She wished it would be, but these things take time. She just needed to exercise some...patience.

Sandra was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard a low, animalistic sound coming from the bed. She looked around, her ears twitching. Snap looked at her in confusion. He asked her what was wrong, but she ignored him. She focused her attention trying to find that sound. She turned her head from side to side. It had to be coming from here, yet...where was it?

Only her and Snap were on the bed. She saw no bulge indicating someone else was there. Yet the sound wasn't coming from anywhere else. It was in this vicinity. She gritted her teeth, getting off the bed and turning around. She stared at it intently, looking up and down.

But still no sign of whatever that sound was. She growled in frustration, wondering just what was going on. There had to be a reason why this was happening. She continued to ignore Snap's confused cries as she held her ears up, using them as radar dishes so she could guide herself over to wherever the sound was coming from.

Soon she found herself lowering to the ground. She grabbed the sheet covering the bottom space of the bed. Could this be where the sound was coming from? There was only one way to find out.

She grabbed the sheet and lifted it up. She looked at the dark space, her red eyes darting from side to side. At first, she saw nothing. But soon, a pair of eyes glowed in the dark, staring straight at her. Her eyes widened and she attempted to pull herself back, only to bang her head against the bed.

"Yeowch!" Sandra cried. She gripped her head and rubbed it. She looked over and saw that something large was creeping towards her. Her eyes widened more. "Oh no..."

In seconds, the large creature pushed against her, letting out a soft growl in the process. They rolled out from the side of the bed and towards the door. Sandra found herself pinned down, feeling the charp claws of the best press against her. She dared to open her eyes and she looked up. She sucked in a breath through her clenched teeth as she saw what it was.

A crocodile... Or so it looked like. She had never seen a croc like this before. Longer legs, looking as though it could run quite well for longer periods of time. The beast lowered its head towards her, opening its elongated jaws, its hot breath hitting against her. Sandra's heart pounded, finding herself unable to tear her gaze away from the creature.

"Mosaic! No!" Came a shout. "Off her!"

To Sandra's surprise and confusion, the beast got off of her. It slunk back towards the bed, and sat down on its haunches. She then saw Snap reach down and start petting it on its head.

Her mind filling with confusion and uncertainty, Sandra managed to ask, "S-Snap...what's going on..?"

"Oh I'm sorry about that. I should have told you when you came in here." Snap said apologetically. He stroked the top of the creature's head, treating it like it was some kind of pet. "This is Mosaic. She's my guardian."

Sandra held herself up by her hands. She took in a few quick breaths. She stared at Mosaic, and then back at Snap. "Guardian?"

Snap nodded his head. "She is to keep me from getting out of bed." His expression saddened at this. "The doctors don't know when my memory will return to normal, and the scans came up negative they said." He sighed as he looked down at the reptilian zoner. "This morning, I tried to climb out of bed and nearly hurt myself worse. The doctors hope that Mosaic being with me will help reduce that possibility."

Sandra stared at Mosaic for a few seconds. It was only after looking at her carefully that Sandra noticed the collar with a button around her neck. Suddenly, it all made sense to her.

A part of her was happy that someone would keep Snap from hurting himself before everything could be finished. She couldn't properly do this if Snap ended up doing something really bad to himself by mistake. But on the other hand, this could be a problem. Depending on how well she can communicate with others, Mosaic could prove to be an obstacle between her and her goals.

"What's wrong, Sandra?" It would seem Snap took notice of her nervousness.

Sandra tried to clear her mind, not wanting to sound too uncomfortable around Snap. "Oh...I was just...thinking that's all..."

Snap narrowed his eyes slightly. "Sandra, I know what's going on."

At this, Sandra froze. Had Snap seen through her plans? Did he figure out what she was planning to do? She did her best to keep her cool, but she could feel her heart rate speeding p. She looked over at Snap, unable to stop her eyes from widening. "Y-You do...?" She managed to choke out.

Snap nodded his head. "Uh huh."

Then came the pause. Sandra felt dread rise up in her heart. This was it. Snap was going to tell her how disgusting she was, how she was a monster... He was not going to give her a chance to tell her side of the story. He would just proceed to tear her apart.

Then when he spoke, and the words not what she had expected, she felt relief rush through her body.

"You're scared of Mosaic, aren't you?" Snap's expression softened up. Sandra tried to answer, but she just stammered. "I see." This caused Snap's eyes to furrow more with concern. He looked from Mosaic, and then up to Sandra. "You don't have to worry about her. She will not hurt you." He looked down at Mosaic, stroking her on her head. "Will you?"

Mosaic didn't do anything. She just stared at Sandra. She mode no threatening move towards her, but there was something about those eyes. Sandra couldn't look away. They were almost hypnotic. Something was going on in that lizard's eyes. She just knew it.

As if taking Mosaic's silence as an answer, Snap smiled up at Sandra and said, "See? She's harmless."

Harmless...? Sandra would have to wait and see about that. Given enough time, she will see just how harmless Mosaic really was.

Snap continued to stroke along Mosaic's back. His gaze turned to the crocodile, but when he spoke, his voice was clearly addressed to Sandra. "So...how long do you plan on staying? I do like the company, and I do appreciate you visiting me."

Sandra smiled at this. "It's not a problem at all, Snap. Really..." She looked at Mosaic for a second, feeling uncomfortable under her stare. She cleared her throat and said, "But I won't be able to stay too long." She tilted her head back slightly. "I am certain I have a long line of customers waiting."

"Yeah I'm sure. I'm not surprised." Snap gave a small chuckle. "Your food was great. It was delicious."

"Thank you." Sandra said.

"I am...glad you're getting a lot of business. It would be a shame if nobody ever got a chance to try out your food. You're incredible!" Snap said with a grin. "I do have one question, though."

"What's that?" Asked Sandra.

"Do you plan on making a cook book?" Snap asked.

This took Sandra by surprise. She had not expected a question like this to be asked. She stammered, unsure of how to reply. A cook book? This was...quite unexpected. She never thought of making a cook book before.

"I admit, it never crossed my mind..." Sandra admitted.

Snap looked disappointed by this. "Oh that is a shame. I think you should try something like that." Snap widened his smile. "I think everyone in the city would buy your book!"

Sandra chuckled softly at this. She wasn't so sure if that would be a good idea. She had her own way of making things, and some would say it was...out of the norm. She didn't want to be singled out for criticism, and she didn't want people stealing her ideas. She could make more money this way, but then again, she could lose money. If people could make their own Sandra-styled dishes, why bother coming to her?

Plus, she knew some zoners would not approve of her methods. She knew that at least a handful would be...not so happy with her, to put it lightly. There was a good reason why she kept her methods a secret.

"Y-Yeah...maybe." Sandra managed to say. She rubbed her arm nervously, her eyes shifting from side to side. "I..will think about that."

An obvious lie. She had no intentions of doing such a thing. But she didn't want to flat out say no to Snap. If he did, then he was going to ask her why, and then she'd have to come up with some kind of lie on the spot. She wasn't sure if she could explain it to Snap well enough so he'd understand. She wasn't interested in trying to brew up another complicated lie either.

Luckily, he appeared to buy her small lie. He smiled at her and then leaned back against his pillow. His hand was removed from Mosaic's back. The crocodile zoner remained where she was, dutifully at his bed side. Mosaic moved a tad closer, but her eyes never left Sandra's. The two's eyes locked for several seconds, which quickly felt like hours.

Sandra did her best to remain calm. She didn't know how well Mosaic could sense subtle changes in temperament and bodily functions. She wasn't sure how smart she was, but if she was trained to push that button, she might be able to alert a nurse in here and find a way to shift suspicion onto her.

Sandra thought about staying longer, but with that crocodile zoner staring at her like that, she could feel herself starting to grow more and more nervous. Sooner or later, the croc would catch onto this. The best course of action was to leave before anything could happen.

"Well I should get going." Sandra said. "I'm sorry to cut this short." She gave Snap a sad smile. "I was kind of hoping to stay with you longer. But.." She shrugged. "You know how life can be."

"Don't worry. I understand." Snap said, smiling at her. "You do what you have to do. It was nice having the company for a short time."

"Yeah, I hope to visit soon. Maybe later tonight if I'm lucky." Sandra said. She raised up her hand and waved to Snap. "Well see you later!"

"Goodbye, Sandra!" Snap said.

sss

Sandra was soon out of the hospital and she began her trek back to her restaurant. She moved along the sidewalk, feeling her feet and toes touch the cold concrete. It wouldn't be too hard getting back to her restaurant from here. She just had to make a few turns, and walk mostly straight. She would be there in no time.

As she moved forward, walking along the path, she could see various zoners all around her. They all seemed so busy. Chatting, or having fun, or doing their job, or even a combinationof these. She turned her head from one side to the other, taking note on how these zoners were interacting with one another.

It was so...peaceful. Despite the chatter that came from these zoners, she couldn't help but notice how...calm everyone seemed to be. Despite the explosions, the zoners were starting to recover a little. Sure, she doubted their emotional pain stopped, but they were remaining confident that the culprit would be found, and their dead loved ones would be given the closure they deserve.

They wouldn't be the only ones. Everytime she walked the street, she would hear at least one zoner mention something about that. Justice and closure and all that stuff. It had been happening for a while. It was a conversational topic she got used to hearing.

Strange they never seem to tell Snap any of this. The blue and white zoner had never talked about it. It confused the dragon zoner why Snap wouldn't know. Perhaps the zoners thought it was personal and just didn't want him get involved? Snap was kind of a child zoner. He was drawn like one anyway. Maybe they thought he was too young or something?

Well she didn't want to concern herself with that. It didn't really matter to her if Snap knew or not. All that mattered was that everything was going according to plan.

And it was. Snap remained the only survivor, with other zoners perishing in the flames. He remained amnesiac regarding the events. So long as these factors remained that way, and there were no alterations whatsoever, then everything was good. Everything was going just fine.

Of course, there was a chance that someone else survived the fire. They could have found another way out, in a lower part of the building that the police haven't searched yet. She hoped that wasn't the case. If she had to, she would go in and make sure that Snap remained the only survivor. She couldn't allow any deviations. It was just too risky.

And speaking of risky, she wasn't sure what to think of Mosaic. Snap said she was harmless, but she wasn't so sure. She could prove to be a huge thorn in her side. If Mosaic will be watching Snap dutifully, then she will have to contend with her every time she visited. She would need to be careful not to trigger any suspicion from Mosaic. She couldn't be sure just how sentient she really was.

Sandra made a mental note to herself. She would need to take care of Mosaic if it came to that. She would need to make sure she didn't interrupt. For now, she would not do anything to her. She did not want to waste her time on her if she could avoid it. But if Mosaic became too much of a problem, then something would have to be done about her.

Fortunately, Sandra had a bit of a secret weapon. She had used it before, in secret. She never told anyone about it. She was quite proud of this ability. It would allow her to disable Mosaic in a matter of moments, and she needn't even place a hand on her.

If she were to tell anyone of this ability, they would be shocked with how she was using it. One big reason, they wouldn't comprehend how she could use this power this way. It was really quite simple. It was all a matter of understanding what potentials were there, and exploiting that.

But she had no intentions on telling anyone about this power. Doing so could again cause suspicion on her, and they could find out what she had been doing. No, best to keep this a secret.

All in all, she was happy with how things were progressing. Better than she had hoped. All the factors were in place, just like she had hoped. Snap couldn't remember. He was still the only survivor, all according to plan. Things were going quite well, and hopefully it will remain that way as time goes on.

She still felt betrayed by Snap. Although speaking to Snap, it didn't seem like he had betrayed her; he was still quite friendly towards her, and he didn't seem like the kind of zoner to hide stuff. Well either way, accident or not, it was still a betrayal of her trust. She was still quite sore about it, still having some anger towards her friend. She had done her best to hide it during the meeting, but she would have to be careful in the future. She couldn't afford to lose it in front of her friend.

No matter. Sooner or later, Snap would feel sorry for what he had done. He would realize he was in the wrong and apologize to her. Then, once his punishment is complete, if he were still around, then they could move on like nothing happened. She would be more than happy to go back to just being his friend. She didn't want to be his punisher forever.

Well there was nothing she could do about that. Until all of this was over, she would have to continue on just as planned.

Soon she reached the street that her restaurant was on. She slowed her pace a little. She wanted to enjoy the scenery. It was quite pretty in this part of town, despite it being on the outskirts. She looked left and right, noting an increase in zoner activity. She could see a whole line of them. Her eyes traced along, and soon she found the cause of this line.

It was her own restaurant. Her eyes widened. She knew there would be customers, but she never knew there would be a line this long. She felt her chest swell up in happiness. It seemed her restaurant was even more popular than she had thought. She didn't think there would be this long of a line. Not wanting to keep her customers waiting, she sprinted, rushing towards her restaurant.

"Hey there she is!" A zoner shouted.

"Finally!" An irritated female zoner said. "Where have you been?!"

A disgruntled zoner snarled at her. "How long were you plan on keeping us here?"

Sandra winced. Some of the zoners sounded quite upset. She couldn't blame them. She should have been here, doors open, taking their orders. It was times like these where she wished she had hired some company. She knew she couldn't do that, so she would have to deal with the consequences herself.

As she passed by the irritated zoners, she offered them quick apologies. She unlocked the doors to the restaurant and opened them up. Immediately, the zoners rushed in, all forming a line. Some of them still glared at her. She did her best to ignore it, instead wanting to focus on getting these orders filled out so she could resume her duties at the restaurant.

"How may I serve you?"

Soon, she began to take orders from the zoners, and preparing the food that they had been long awaiting. She wasn't sure how long they had been waiting, and she felt guilty about it, especially if they were here a long time. She would have to make sure to not let this happen again.

As she continued to work in the restaurant, she thought back to Snap. Despite her anger, she still felt bad about doing this. She wished she didn't have to. She really did. But she started, and now there was no going back. She would try to speed things along in certain phases to make it a little less...uncomfortable for him.

And at least she was going to grant him one wish. Snap always liked to be the center of attention at times. He was a very social zoner after all. She was certain that he would want to be remembered for something. Well, sooner or later, he would be remembered. She would make sure the zoners remembered him for something they wouldn't forget for years to come.

That would be Snap's legacy. That would be his mark on ChalkZone. She can guarantee him that nobody would forget his name after this was all over. Even zoners far away would be likely to hear his name. So at least she could give him that.

"Did you hear about Rudy?"

"What about him?"

"He and his friends are up to something."

Sandra's ears perked up as she heard some zoners talking. She turned her head in their drection. She saw a table of what appeared to be a family of zoners. As she brought a plate of food over to one of her recent customers, she kept her ears raised up to pick up the chattering of the nearby zoners.

"They're going to try to figure out what happened to their friend."

"Yeah, that explosion did seem off... I wonder if they will find anything."

Sandra widened her eyes at this. Snap's friends... She had forgotten to completely add them into the frame of the plan. If they did investigations of their own, and they found anything suspicious...

Oh no, that was going to cause major problems. Especially Penny, if she was as smart as Snap said she was. Sandra realized she would have to prepare to confront the children sooner or later. She might end up on their suspects list. She narrowed her eyes softly. She would have to think about this after work, and prepare herself just in case.

She would make sure the human children weren't going to be a problem.


	9. Cause For Concern

And I won't cry for yesterday. There's an ordinary world, somehow, I have to find.

-Ordinary World, Red

sss

"Oh Snap..I'm so sorry that..." Penny's voice trailed off, unable to say anything else.

Rudy nodded in agreement. "We were hoping that...but I guess that..." He shut his eyes, tears flowing down his face.

Mint's body shook slightly, clearly trying to come to terms with what they found out. "We just can't believe that..."

"I wish it wasn't true. I wish I was wrong." Snap said, his head lowered. He gritted his teeth, trying to manage the pain that still surged through his legs. "If I had good news, I would tell you. But...I told you all I knew."

"Yeah...we know." Rudy said. "We know."

The hospital room fell silent. Nobody said a word, just staring at each other, each lost in their own thoughts. None of them expected the visit to be rainbows and sunshine, but none of them could have expected things to turn out this way. This meeting had quickly gone downhill with a horrific discovery that made them all expect the worse to come.

Snap couldn't believe it to be true. A part of him wish that the nurse was lying to him. He wished that there was some kind of mistake made. There was...just no way that... But no, there was no way this could be wrong. The doctors and nurses...they wouldn't be like this. They would not lie. What would they have to gain from it? Well money, but still..he wouldn't believe they would deliberately lie about this.

It had been three days. Three long days since he was assigned Mosaic to keep an eye on him. The doctors had wanted her to make sure he wouldn't hurt himself, and so far, she had been doing a good job. The doctors had hoped he would start improving.

But today, Snap knew the truth. It was horrible, and he wished it wasn't the case. But he knew that it was true.

After three days, he was still having memory issues.

This stung him in his heart, making him feel sick. For the past couple days, he would wake up to a blank slate. Anything and everything that happened before he fell asleep, he would forget the next day. He would always wake up confused, trying to climb out of bed, nearly injurying himself more. If it weren't for Mosaic, he...

Snap shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to believe this was reality. It had to be some kind of bad dream, right? Something else was pulling his strings and... No, that wasn't true. He could only accept what was plain as day. His memory had gone bad.

He had always heard that life wasn't fair. Indeed, he knew this to be true. Life can sometimes do terrible things, and he had been prepared for that. But that didn't mean it was easy. He had recently recovered from a back injury, and now this was placed onto his plate. He was back in the hospital with legs too badly burned for use. He was going to be here for a long time until they healed up properly, and he had to still undergo some skin grafting.

He half wondered if this had all been a part of that culprit's plan. Maybe they hadn't been trying to kill him, but instead were just biding time, making him suffer longer. He clenched his teeth tightly at the thought, feeling his body shake harder in anger.

What did he ever do to deserve this? What did he do to make this culprit target him? Yeah he destroyed the machine, but it had been an accident. And that machine was causing trouble anyway. It was the culprit, and not him, who deserved to be punished. Snap hoped that they would be discovered eventually and taken into custody. He hoped to confront the culprit one day and just ask him a single question.

Why...?

Nothing more, nothing less. Snap was not interested in revenge. He was not interested in tearing the guy apart. No, all he wanted from them was to understand why they did this. He wanted closure, and the best way as to find out what their motivations were, what drove them to do this.

Nothing they say was going to dismiss the charges. Nothing they say would make Snap automatically forgive them. But at least he would have a better understanding of what was going on in their heads. That's all he wanted to right now, aside from the culprit being taken into custody. Understanding.

But would he ever get a chance? Would he ever be able to learn why he was targeted? Would the culprit, if they are ever found, even confess? Only time would tell. Time...and luck.

"I wish we could be of more help..." Rudy's voice cut through the silence. "I feel so useless right now. I..."

Penny took a few steps towards the boy. She put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle smile. "Rudy, we are doing all we can now."

"We are questioning the zoners whenever we can." Mint added in. "We are trying to find out what happened. We are trying to find some leads, any ideas on suspects. Right now, that's all we can do."

"I know. But still..I want to..." Rudy glanced over at Snap. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "It's just not fair! I'm the Guardian of ChalkZone! I should be able to fix this! I..."

"Whoa! Settle down there, Bucko!" Snap looked at Rudy in shock, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Mint and Penny are right, Rudy. You're doing what you can to help, and that's good enough for me."

"B-But.." Rudy stared at Snap, shocked.

Snap raised up his hand. "No buts. You might be the guardian here, but you are still a kid. You can't expect to fix everyone's problems right away. Things happen that you can't control, and you won't be able to help out everyone. The important thing is that you are doing what you can to help now, what matters the most is that you are trying your best."

Rudy stared at Snap, his eyes widened. He looked as if he couldn't believe Snap would say that. The zoner said nothing, just continuing to smile to his friend, silently telling him it was all right. Mint and Penny said nothing, just smiled at nodded to Rudy, echoing Snap's words of encouragement.

Then, slowly, Rudy began to smile. He walked away from Penny, heading straight towards Snap. Soon he stood in front of his friend, staring down at him. Seconds later, he lowered himself and wrapped his arms around him. Snap widened his eyes in surprise, but soon hugged his friend back. They remained like that for several seconds, feeling each other's warmth.

Soon Rudy released his grip. He took a step back, smiling down at Snap. He wiped away a tear that strolled down his face. "Yeah..you're right, Snap." Rudy said softly. "I'm...sorry I got carried away."

"You don't have to apologize. You were just upset. We all are." Snap replied. "But..I'm glad you came to your senses." Snap let out a soft chuckle. "You won't be of much use to anyone if you kept feeling sorry for yourself and just..broke down into a miserable pile of woe."

At this, Rudy grinned. "Oh, you mean like Mint over there?" Rudy gestured towards Mint, who was staring at him in shock. "When he had spent two weeks crying in a corner in a fetal position before he attempted to apologize to you?"

"Hey...!" Mint started to say. "That's not what I was doing!"

"Says the amazing iron limb." Rudy said in a slightly taunting voice.

Mint smirked. "Oh yeah? And what about you, clueless? The one who nearly single handedly stored all of ChalkZone in a vacuum bag!"

"Well technically it was Snap who activated the vacuum but he didn't mean to." Penny said.

"Oh of course it was Snap! How could I have been so blind?" Mint chuckled, motioning his hand towards Snap. "The risk taker who craves excitement! Snap, the destroyer of worlds!"

Snap glared at this, not feeling particularly happy about this topic being brought up. He remembered that incident all too clearly. He had messed around with a vacuum that Rudy wanted to store in ChalkZone for his dad. He had pushed the wrong button and nearly sucked up all of ChalkZone. Even to this day, he still felt guilty about it.

He did his best not to look angry. He understood Mint meant to real harm in what he said. He was just trying to lighten up the mood. And he had to admit, thinking back to that incident, it was pretty funny how all that destruction was caused by him playing around with a single device. Destroyer of worlds seemed pretty humorous as well.

Still, he couldn't really bring himself to laugh or join in. Mint's words only served to remind him of the seriousness of the situation. Sure they weren't dealing with someone who wanted to destroy ChalkZone, or so they hoped. But what was going on... There was no way they could dismiss it.

Despite them trying to lighten the mood, Snap couldn't shift his focus off the topic at hand. Who was this culprit? What did they want? What did they plan on doing next? If they could heartlessly rig an explosion to go off that killed a large number of zoners like it was nothing...

...then what else were they capable of...?

Mint seemed to realize he might have gone a little too far. He lowered his head and spoke in a softer voice. "Snap, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh, it's okay. I know you didn't mean it." Snap replied. "Besides, it wasn't really that incident I was thinking about." He reached down and patted the top of Mosaic's head, who was standing next to the bed on his left side. Her thick tail moved slowly from side to side. "Do you...think we will ever find out what happened?"

Mint seemed a bit taken aback by this question. He looked at Rudy and Penny before turning his gaze back to Snap. The question was directed at him only. Snap made that very clear by staring at him intently, his eyes locking onto his. Mint had trouble responding, opening his mouth but soon shutting it, looking left and right. It took Mint a while before he could work enough confidence to respond.

"I...yes.." Mint said, clearly attempting to sound as reassuring as possible. "I think we will. It'll be hard, but..we'll succeed. Somehow."

Althought Mint didn't sound convincing enough to cheer Snap up, the zoner still smiled. "Thank you." He looked over at Rudy and Penny. "What do you think?"

Rudy and Penny stared at each other, and then looked back at Snap. They both nodded their heads. No words were needed in order for Snap to understand what they were thinking.

Snap smiled gratefully to his friends. He appreciated what they had been doing. Cheering him up, lightening up the mood, doing what they could to find out who did this to him... He appreciated it all. He was still scared, uncertain of what tomorrow would bring, uncertain if his mind was ever going to fix itself. But he could rest assured knowing that his friends were doing what they could to help him.

And what was good enough for him.

Before anyone could continue to speak, they heard a knock on the door. They turned their heads, Rudy calling out, letting them know they can come in. A second passed by before the door opened up. The familiar doctor whom they've been getting well acquainted with walked in.

"Hello, Dr. Crobat." Rudy said. "Do you have any news for us?"

Dr. Crobat gritted his beak. "There hasn't been much of a change, unfortunately. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Everyone nodded at this.

"It just isn't fair." Rudy said softly. "Why Snap..?"

Dr. Crobat stared at the boy, letting out a soft sigh. "Sometimes things happen and we can't stop them." He looked at each of the kids, including Snap, giving them a sympathetic expression. "If it were up to me, none of this would happen. But..I'm not an all powerful being. None of us are. None of us can stop things from happening. The only thing we can do is learn to deal with them, learn to recover."

"I would love to go home, play games, watch some home movies..." Snap said, his gaze lowering. "But I'm trapped here."

"It's too dangerous to let you leave. We need you here so we can properly monitor you. And you being here also makes it easier for us to run another scan, which we decided will be pretty soon. A few days."

Penny looked at the doctor, eyes widening, as if expecting the worse. "Have you...?" She bit her lip. "..found out anything?"

The bird zoner shook his head. "I'm sorry. We have not. But..." Dr. Crobat looked over at Snap, wincing slightly, and then looked back at Penny. "If he doesn't improve in the next few days, we will run another brain scan to see if we missed anything. There's just.." He looked at Snap again, shaking his head. "There's no reason why he should still not be forming new memories. Something has to be wrong with his brain."

"What if it turns up negative again?" Mint said somewhat glumly. "What then?"

Dr. Crobat sighed. "I'm...not sure." He was quiet for a few moments. Then he said, the only thing I can think of is exploratory surgery, but..this is the brain and that's..."

"Too risky." Penny finished for him.

"Yes, that's right." Dr. Crobat nodded his head once. "We don't want to do something like that if we don't have to." The children nodded in agreement. "We'll just have to hope that Snap either improves, or we find something on the scan. And hope that it's treatable."

At this, Snap winced. He could see his friends give each other nervous glances. They all knew what this could mean. Snap dreaded it. He really hoped it wouldn't turn out this way.

Yet they all knew it could very easily happen. The doctors could indeed find something, but that didn't mean he was out of the woods yet. The discovery the doctors would make could change everything for the worse. What if they found a tumor inside of him? Or some kind of parasite? The thought filled Snap with ice. He knew full well that either scenario would result in life-risking surgery that could deal even more damage at the end. What if he loses a part of who he was? What if he becomes someone else? What if...?

Snap tried as hard as he could, but it was hard for him to push aside the horrible thoughts. He couldn't stop the shivers from moving through his body. Even as Mosaic pushed her head against him, giving a soft, concerned growl, he still stared ahead blankly, fearful thoughts filling his head.

Both directions frightened him. If the doctors didn't find anything, then there was the element of the unknown. He would have to deal with not knowing what was wrong, and not be certain if things could get worse, what could happen next, among other things.

But if the doctors do find something, he could find some comfort in at least knowing what it was. But that would do little to fully alleviate his fear, and it'd create new ones. Tumor, parasite, internal bleeding, and other different possibilities entered his train of thought. Each one would bring with it fear to the zoner, and apprehension of the treament, which could still go wrong even with the best precautions available.

But in the end, he knew the best course of action was to find out what was wrong, to hope that the doctors would find something. At least then, he would have a chance at a normal life again. The doctors would have an idea of how to fix the problem.

As scared as he was, as frightened as he felt, he was still confident that they would find out what was going on. He didn't want to keep his mind too much on the horror of what happened to him. He didn't want to think about that explosion that nearly took his life. He wanted to instead focus on the future, and the hope that everything would work out.

Continuing to bring himself down due to what happened, and the dread that surrounded it, he knew that nothing good would come out of it. He was going to be afraid for a while, until the culprit was captured, but he would try to focus on the good things.

Yes, a positive attitude would make these days more bearable. He would have to write it down somewhere, so each day he'd remember. He needed to be grateful for what he still had, and remain hopeful that everything would be just fine.

"Well I need to get going. I have somewhere else I have to be." Dr. Crobat said, his voice soft, somewhat apologetic. He walked towards Snap, lowering his head towards him. "And Snap?" He reached down and patted Snap on the head as the zoner looked up at him. "...good luck."

Snap said nothing, just staring at the doctor in silence as he left the room. He and his friends watched the zoner open the door and shut it, and listened to his footsteps as he walked down the hallway. It was only when the sounds disappeared completely that they began to speak again.

"I...can't believe it." Rudy said. His eyes were filled with fear. "The possibility of it..." He didn't finish his sentence. He looked over at Snap, biting his lip. "I'm so sorry that we can't do anything more for you. I...wish we could."

"Yeah, Snap. If it were up to me, and if I could, I would find that thug who hurt you and..." Mint only stopped when Rudy nudged him gently. The boy seemed to realize he was going off on a tangent. He cleared his throat and said, "Well, any way, if we can find something else we can do, we'll let you know."

Penny said, "Rest assured, we will find out who did this to you."

Snap smiled at this. "I know you guys will. I have faith in you." He watched as the humans smiled at him, their eyes getting glassy. "And please, don't blame yourselves for this. You didn't ask for this to happen. This wasn't your fault. The only one to blame is the creepazoid who did this."

This seemed to cheer his friends up a little. Knowing that he didn't blame them for what happened certainly helped. They knew that Snap would never blame them for something like this. None of them could have prepared for something like this to happen. Blaming themselves would only delay action to get the real guilty party.

"And even if you don't find out anything, don't worry." Snap said with a smile. "You're still my friends. And I love you all. Just...just knowing you are willing to do all this...just to help me... That is good enough."

"Oh Snap..." Penny said, a few tears moving down her cheeks. "We love you, too..."

Wordlessly, his friends came closer to him. Mosaic moved back, giving the humans room to be with their friend. She watched quietly, intently, as the three horms huddled around Snap, putting their arounds around his body. The four engaged in a group hug, smiles on their faces.

Snap wasn't sure how long they stayed in the embrace, and he didn't really care. He just continued hugging his friends, enjoyng the feeling of them embracing him back. It was comforting, and he could feel the tension in the room leaving slowly as they kept huddled up together. He could feel his mind clearing up, emptying itself of all nervous thought that was inside him before. Replacing it was tranquility, and hope.

"We will find out who did this to you." Rudy said. "You can count on that."

Snap smiled at this. As Mint and Penny echoed Rudy's statement, Snap couldn't help but feel lucky to have friends like these. They were willing to do what it took to help him. They knew it could be dangerous, that they could easily fail, or get themselves hurt. But they were still willing to do whatever it took to help him, and to help ChalkZone stop this menace. And he loved them for that.

"Yeah.." Snap said, offering smile to his friends. "I know you will..."

sss

Rudy, Mint, and Penny were walking down the streets of ChalkZone. They looked left and right, trying to find someone to talk to. Zoners moved passed them, but most of them didn't talk to them. They had already spoken before, with little to no luck.

The trio had decided to leave the hospital so they could continue their search for information. They had apologized to Snap for having to leave, but being Snap, he was quite forgiving. Why wouldn't he be? He was their friend and he knew they wanted to help him, and to save ChalkZone from this hideous menace. They wished they knew already who the culprit was, but perhaps that would change soon.

They did already ask a bunch of zoners. The interviews had gone on for hours each day they went to look for somebody. The first day was the longest, as they had spent as much time as they could finding residents of ChalkZone City. As the days went by, the number of people they spoke to shrank, and now it was to the point where they were having trouble finding someone to speak to.

But Mint knew they would succeed. Somewhere, there was someone whom they hadn't spoken to yet. They just had to keep an eye out for them. There were many zoners that they passed by on the street. Many zoners looked the same, especially stick figure zoners. But there were still minor details that set them apart. They just had to know where to look.

They did eventually find a small group of zoners huddled together, none of which looked familiar to them. They looked kind of punkish in style, and appeared to be some motorcycle gang. The sight of them was intimidating, but they overcame their nervousness to speak to them.

"Hey...can we speak to you?" Rudy asked, standing in front of his friends. One of the larger members turned their heads, looking down at him. Rudy cringed, but swallowed and continued anyway. "We just want to ask a couple of questions."

The motorcycle gang looked at each other. Then they stared down at the children. Mint winced under their stare. They weren't necessarily glaring, but there was something...intense and uncomfortable about how they were looking at them.

"Okay..." The thinnest one of the group said. His voice didn't seem to fit his body type very well. "Shoot."

The children remained quiet for a few seconds, and then they started to speak. Taking turns, the three children began to relay the recent events to the zoners, explaining about the explosions, what happened to Snap, to the other zoners, explained the signal that was altering minds, and whatever else they could think of. They helped each other out remember details as they went along, making sure to include whatever they could.

Mint wasn't sure if these zoners could be of any help. It could just be like any of the other zoners they had spoken to. In fact, he was expecting that kind of answer. He and the others got used to it. Still, perhaps, just maybe, this time will be different. They wouldn't know until the bikers gave their answer. As they finished and waited, giving the bikers all the time they needed to reply.

The thin one spoke again. "I'm sorry." He shook his head. "We have no information we can give."

The group's hearts sank. But the level of disappointmen they felt had been numbed up a bit by the fact that they had expected this anyway. Still, it was disappointing. Oh well, there was nothing they can do about it.

"That's okay." Penny said. "Thanks for the information.

The motorcycle gang nodded their heads. They turned and walked away, getting on their motorbikes and leaving. The three friends caughed on the smoke that pillowed out of the pipe. They swiped at the air, trying to make the smoke dissipate quickly.

"How rude..." Penny commented, glaring at the retreating motorbikes.

"Well we are back to square one." Rudy said, folding his arms against his chest. He leaned against the building. "Is there anyone else we haven't spoken to here yet?"

Mint shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so. I think we spoke to just about everyone here."

Penny raised her finger. "Well there is someone we could ask."

"Oh? Who is that?" Mint looked towards her. Seeing her expression, before she had a chance to speak, Mint immediately interrupted, "Oh no, you're not talking about Sandra, are you?"

Penny stared at him, wide-eyed. "Why not?"

Mint could have told her how he was familiar with the name somehow. He could tell her that he was confused around her, and unsure of what to think of her. But that isn't what predominated his mind. "We already spoke to her, remember?"

"Mint's right. We spoke to her, and she had nothing to say." Rudy said.

"Well we can try again." Penny's voice had some kind of edge to it. It was hard for Mint to pinpoint. "I think there just might be something she didn't tell us the last time."

Mint and Rudy glanced at each other. They both remained quiet, thinking about what Penny said. Perhaps she was right. Maybe they just needed to ask questions again. At this point, what else could they do? They asked just about everyone. It was getting to the point where, if they wanted information, they'll have to ask some zoners again. Perhaps they would have something different to say. Maybe they discovered something. Maybe they found new information. They wouldn't know unless they tried.

They all silently agreed on the next course of action. They needed to talk to Sandra again. Her restaurant wasn't far from here. They hoped that she would have something new to tell them. Perhaps Sandra had asked some stuff around her customers; she got a lot of them.

The reminder of speaking to Sandra before made them all recall what she said about Jacko. They had investigated into that while Snap was in the hospital, and concluded that he was not the culprit. Not that they believed it before, but they were able to confirm he had been nowhere near the city when it had been under the signal's control, nor when any of the explosions happened. And Jacko himself did seem pretty offended when they indicated that he was a suspect. He went on to say that causing an explosion to kill zoners and brainwashing others was beneatn him.

Mint hoped that, if Sandra had any other possible leads, it would be to a zoner they hadn't thought of before. Perhaps a zoner whom they had spoken to before, that was just playing them. Mint couldn't shake the feeling that someone was tricking them, manipulating them. After being used by Skrawl, he was pretty keen on this vibe.

The three friends continued walking down the street, keeping to the sidewalk. They saw some zoners pass by, some of them with bags of food, probably from Sandra's restaurant. Some zoners were talking amongst each other, and though they tried to keep focused on the task at hand, they couldn't help but overhear some things.

"Did you hear? That Snap fellow is still in the hospital." One zoner said.

"Still? Well I'm not surprised. He probably wants it all to be so convincing." Another said.

A third zoner joined in. "Yeah. I'm not sure why no one has not noticed before." A seething sound. "I don't get why they are exempting him from further interrogation. Why don't they talk to him about what happened?"

A fourth zoner rolled her eyes. "Oh because he has amnesia of course! Or so he claims." She folded her arms. "He's probably getting a kick out of this."

The chatter of the zoners made their blood boil. The three friends were tempted to stop and speak to the zoners about this. But they couldn't waste time on that. They couldn't allow themselves to get worked up. They were on a mission.

Brushing past the small group of zoners, ignoring any jeering remarks they got from them, they continued on their trek towards Sandra's Alcove. They recognized some of the signs and buildings, and they knew they were getting close.

As they made a turn, they suddenly slammed against something solid and warm. They heard a grunt, and instantly realized it was a zoner of some kind. They instantly backed away, looking towards the zoner to apologize. Their eyes widened as they realized just which zoner it was.

"Sandra!" Rudy cried as he rushed forward. He held out his hand. "We're so sorry!"

Sandra sat on the ground, using one hand to hold herself up and the other to rub her head. She glared up at Rudy, clenching her teeth. She accepted his hand, grabbing into it and allowing him to help pull herself back to her feet. She instantly brushed herself off, knocking off any dirt that clung to her sky blue body. Once she was done, she turned her attention to the humans.

"What brings you all out here?"

"We were on our way to see you." Rudy said.

Sandra widened her eyes at this. "Really?" She tilted her head. "Why? Did you come here to ask more about that machine?"

Mint nodded his head. "Yes. We were hoping if you found out anything else."

"Yeah. Did you learn anything from the customers?" Penny asked.

Sandra tapped a finger against her lower jaw, putting on a thoughtful expression. This lasted for a few seconds, then she replied, "No not really. Nothing really interesting anyway." She noted the children's expressions and she lowered her ears. "I do apologize about that."

"That's okay." Rudy raised his hand, smiling at her. "We understand."

Sandra smiled at them. Her eyes then narrowed slightly. "How has Snap been doing lately? Any improvements?"

The trio lowered their heads and shook them. Sandra looked at them sympathetically, rubbing her hands together nervously. They stared at her, none saying a word. The dragon zoner instantly realized what they were going to say.

"I'm...so sorry." Sandra lamented. She gritted her teeth, looking away from them. "I wish...there was something I can do to help. But I.." She paused, holding out her hands in gesture as she tried to come up with something to say. But it was clear she was having a hard time. "Well, I'll...try to think of some way to help."

"Thank you." Rudy said. He smiled the best he could, but Mint could tell it was a little forced. "It's nice that you are at least willing to try." He looked out towards the direction they saw those jerkass zoners. "Some of the zoners are starting to..." His voice trailed off.

Mint, upon seeing Sandra's curious expression, finished for him, "Some zoners are starting to think Snap rigged the explosion."

"What?!" Sandra gasped in horror, her eyes widening as her hand was pressed against her mouth. "Why would they think such a thing? Snap is such a sweet zoner! He's never done anything threatening before. Why would they...?"

"I'm not sure. I'm sure there's a reason, but I don't care to find out right now." Mint said, gritting his teeth. "I'll probably blow up in their faces before they had a chance to finish."

It was true. And he knew Rudy and Penny realized it, as well. He was the more aggressive of them, and he would, if he didn't control himself, snap and do something risky if he got angry enough. He didn't take too well to their friend being accused like this, and neither did Rudy or Penny. But they were noticeably more able to control themselves than him at times. He had to be careful, or he could do something he would soon regret.

"I can't say I agree." Penny said.

Mint looked at her. "Why?"

Penny narrowed her eyes at him. "Because it is evidence, Mint. We cannot afford not knowing anything, especially since we already know so little." Penny paused, as if to let this sink into his head. "We should go talk to them at some point, and try to understand why they feel that way. If we learn why, maybe it could lead us to more information."

Mint sucked on his lip when she said that. She...had a point, he had to admit. Perhaps those jerkass zoners could help them. He just hoped that he could control himself and not blow up at them when they tried to speak.

Mint couldn't see any reason why they would blame Snap. The poor guy had already been through so much. Okay so he had some ideas of why, but that didn't change the fact that he was enraged with the zoners for daring to blame Snap for it. He had both his legs burned, he can't walk, and he had amnesia. He didn't deserve to have more stuff added onto him like this. If those zoners decide to give Snap a hard time...

...he would make sure they never try it again.

"I can't really fathom myself why they'd blame Snap. But..." Sandra shook her head. "Well some zoners can't be helped." She cleared her throat, her hands clasped together. "So...did the doctors figure out anything they can do for him?"

"They did say that if Snap's amnesia continued, they were going to run another scan." Penny said. "We don't know if they will find anything different but..."

"We hope that they do. Even if the possibilities are frightening, we would rather them find something than nothing." Rudy said. "At least then, it can be treatable."

Sandra nodded in agreement. "I hope they find something, too. It would be a shame if they continued to not find anything." Her eyes widened at this. "Do you realize what this could implicate with the other zoners...?"

This sent chills down their spines. They hadn't really thought of it much, but now that Sandra brought it up... They looked at each other, expressions of fear in their facial features. They all knew Sandra was right. No matter how much they wanted to deny it, they all knew it to be true.

The zoners would become suspicious if Snap continued to claim amnesia but have nothing actually wrong with his brain. They would think he was lying, and start to wonder if he was hiding something. Their thoughts went back to those zoners they passed by earlier. Did they have these suspicions? Were they concerned with how Snap couldn't remember, yet had nothing show up in the scans?

In an instant, they all suddenly realized just how serious this was. They could feel their hearts twist at the possibilities. So far, no one had confronted Snap, but..now long was that going to last? How long would it take before they begin to spread rumors? After all, rumors spread like wildfire...

Sandra's ears lowered. A look of regret plastered over her face. "I'm so sorry. I-I didn't mean to upset you all."

Mint looked in her direction. He felt bad for her. Delivering bad news like that was hard for anyone. Sandra had just opened the doors for possibilities they hadn't considered much. But...he had to thank her for that. They had to consider all angles here, and if there was a chance that the zoners would start going after Snap, then he would need to know about that. They all needed to know.

"Don't worry about it." Mint said. He walked towards her, giving her a gentle smile. Despite his uncertainty of her, he reached out and gently touched her shoulder. He could feel it relax. "We're glad you told us. As Penny said, we cannot afford not knowing anything about the situation.

Penny nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

Rudy took a few steps towards the blue dragon zoner. His eyes were narrowed slightly, determination practically glowing from them. "Have you heard anyone say anything about Snap? Anything accusatory?"

"No, not really." Sandra shook her head. There was a bit of relief in her voice. "I just thought of that now, to be honest." She paused for a moment, folding her arms against her chest. "Well..." She tilted her head to one side. "If you'd like...I can listen to my customers later today. I have pretty good hearing." As if to emphasize, she twitched one of her long, pointed ears. "If I catch anything suspicious, I'll let you know when we meet again later."

"Okay, thank you." Rudy said.

"We really appreciate it." Penny smiled at her.

Sandra grinned softly. "I'm glad to help." She then paused for a moment. Her eyes narrowed slowly. The three humans looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was thinking about. "That machine that Snap stopped... did you guys find out anything more regarding that?"

"Sadly no." Penny shook her head. "We still have no clues on who made it. About the only thing we do know is that it was messing with zoners' minds, which we already told you about."

Sandra nodded her head. "Yes, I remember that." She gave a shiver, grimacing at the memory. "It sounded so dreadful! I wonder who could be using such a thing..."

"We wish we knew." Rudy lowered his gaze. He did his best to hide his anger, but both Mint and Penny could tell he was seething with rage underneath his seemingly calm exterior. "It would definitely make our lives so much easier if we could think of a zoner who would build this." He held his hands up in gesture. "But we have no hints, no culprits... We can't even think of any zoner, outside our usual enemies, who would want to try to harm Snap like this, or target ChalkZone City this way."

"The only thing I can say is that, whoever is behind it, he or she is absolutely heartless." Mint grumbled softly to himself. "Only someone without a heart could target so many zoners..."

At this, Rudy and Penny glared softly at Mint. He winced at this, realizing he must have unintentionally triggered an unhappy memory. He took a step back, remaining quiet as Rudy opened his mouth to speak.

"That's exactly what I thought of you when you used to think this world was one giant game, Mint." Rudy said sternly. His eyes narrowed further. "You had targeted a lot of zoners, destroyed large chunks of ChalkZone, all for what you thought was a game. I used to hate you so much, Mint..."

Mint felt awful. He lowered his head, guilt washing through his body. He was not surprised Rudy had felt that way. Back when he had been working for Skrawl, whom he foolishly thought was his NPC guide, he had attacked areas of ChalkZone per his orders. He had done some despicable things, even stuff that he was not ordered to do, but did anyway.

Mint winced as he remembered the details all too vividly. Zoners pleading with him, running away. Some cowering in fear, some getting injured because of his actions. He could feel his heart clench at the uncomfortable memories.

"But..I know you're not like that now." Rudy said, this time in a gentler voice. Mint tilted his head up, staring in his direction. "You were just confused and misguided."

"Perhaps these zoners are no different. Maybe they just..don't know what else to think and they're so confused and uncertain." Penny motioned towards Mint. "You had your reasons..maybe they have theirs. Let us actually talk to them before we place any judgment on them."

Mint stared at them, and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. You were just upset, that's all." Rudy said, smiling at his friend. "Just please, try not control yourself for when we do talk to them."

Penny agreed. "We don't want to cause an incident, now do we?"

Mint noted the playful tone of her voice and said, "Why? Are you afraid of a challenge, amateur?"

Penny smirked in his direction. "Of course not. I'm just worried you'll freak out when you lose like you did that one time in ChalkZone City."

Mint remembered what she was talking about. It was their confrontation while Rudy had been away due to him getting him into trouble in school. He had underestimated Penny's abilities, a mistake he made sure never to do again. He had really freaked out when she beat him, unable to comprehend losing to someone whom he thought was just an amateur at the time.

Well now he knew better.

Mint grinned softly and said, "We'll see about that." Wanting to return the topic to what they were discussing before, Mint turned his attention to Sandra. "So, do you know of anyone else we could ask?"

"No one comes to mind." Sandra shrugged. "I haven't heard anyone talk about any kind of machinery they were making. But...if that changes, I'll let you know."

"Has anyone acted differently lately?" Penny asked. "Any sign of the signal?"

"No, thank goodness." Sandra placed her hand against her chest. If the kids had to guess, they'd say it was pumping hard against her chest. "I'm so glad the signal didn't affect me. I feel bad for the zoners it did mess with, though." She stared at Penny, her expression furrowed, slightly unreadable for a moment. "I...can't imagine what it was like, when it afflicted you, Penny."

The girl shuddered, clearly remembering the incident herself. The details were fresh on all their minds. It terrified them just how far this signal could spread, that even humans can be afflicted.

"Well hopefull it won't happen again. And if it does..." Penny narrowed her eyes in determination. "I'll be ready for it."

Mint smiled at her. "Yes, I'm sure you will be."

Penny smiled at him, and then looked back at Sandra. "If you find yourself feeling affected, try to write down everything. The more we find out about this signal, the better. Maybe I can find out how to counteract it."

Sandra cocked an eyebrow. "Are you certain?"

Penny nodded. "I know it'll be hard, but maybe I can figure out what frequency it is just by the information provided, and use that to work up some kind of blockade for the zoners."

"That's a great idea, Penny!" Rudy said, grinning. "That way, the zoners will be protected, and the culprit can't do anything to try to harm them!"

"A brilliant idea, which I would not expect less from you, Penny." Mint said.

"Yes, indeed." Sandra nodded her head once. She looked over her shoulder, towards where her restaurant was. She gave the children a sideways glance. "Well I hate to cut this short, but I have to get going. Customers and all."

"We understand. We have to leave as well." Rudy replied. "Just...let us know if you think of anything, or find out any information."

"Don't worry. I will." Sandra said. She turned her back to them and started to walk away. She raised a hand, giving them a farewall signal. "See you lot at a different time."

"Bye!" The kids shouted after her. They watched as she walked away, going towards where they knew her restaurant was going to be. They looked at each other and, knowing there wasn't much else they could do right here, they began to trek back.

None of them noticed when Sandra stopped. No one saw her turn around. No one saw her looking back at them. No one saw the disgruntled look etching her features. No one saw her eyes narrowing into slits. No one heard the soft growl emitting from her throat. No one saw her jerk herself around forcibly and walk away.

sss

It just didn't make any sense. There had to be an explanation for this. There had to be a reason this was happening. Something was going on and he knew he had to figure out what it was.

But every test..they always came out normal. That wasn't right. That wasn't...couldn't be correct. He was missing something. There was a key component here. There was an explanation for why all this was happening. He wished he knew what it was. He wished he could figure it out soon. But for now, he was stumped, just like everyone else was. Lost and uncertain, head aching from trying to run different possibilities in his head.

Dr. Crobat had analyzed the situation over and over again. He tried to look at it from every possible angle. He knew something was up. He knew there had to be some puzzle pieces missing. There was a reason why Snap still couldn't remember, but he didn't know if he would ever figure it out.

Or..maybe he had figured it out already. He did have some thoughts on what that might be. It made him feel ashamed thinking about it. He didn't want to seem accusatory. As a doctor, that was against the rules. He could not take sides. He could not allow himself to do such a thing. That was..despicable. That was unprofessional. That was just going to land him in hot water. He..couldn't allow that to happen.

Yet..there was nothing else he could think of. This..this thought that he had, the same one as before..it would explain everything. It did it so well that...He couldn't simply push it all away from his mind. That was impossible to do. The puzzle pieces fit so perfectly in this theory of his. No matter how uncomfortable it made him feel, he had to consider it.

What if Snap really was responsible for the explosion...?

Dr. Crobat couldn't fathom why he would do such a thing. Snap always seemed like a nice zoner. But then...looks weren't everything. There were a number of zoners who seemed nice, but later turned out to be jerks. One such zoner would be Jacko. Even if it wasn't widespread, he did start off as someone no one would expect to do anything drastic. Then he targeted an injured Rudy and all bets were off.

Due to that, Dr. Crobat knew he couldn't dismiss the possibility of Snap not being as innocent as he led everyone to believe. What if he had a more aggressive side that was just starting to come out? He was a superhero zoner after all. Maybe he had some aggression he had been longing to bring out.

But regardless of what he thought, he knew it was best to keep it to himself until he had proof. Despite his suspicions, he still worried for Snap's safety. Plus, if he did do this, he would want to know why. After all, Snap could still be a victim, perhaps controlled by someone else.

He made a mental note to himself not to speak loudly about his suspicions where someone could hear him. He knew some of the visitors who had come to see a loved one had heard him monologuing to himself. He had tried to explain to them, but they had already left, and he wasn't about to chase them down to tell them. He felt guilty, being responsible for why some of the zoners began to doubt Snap, especially before he had any real proof of it, just speculation. Rumors spread very fast, and he had no doubt that a ton of zoners knew about this by now. He could only hope he could find proof of Snap's guiltiness or innocense before irreversable damage could be done.

He would feel awful if Snap turned out to be innocent, and by the time he found proof, the zoners had all turned on him and did horrible things to him in retaliation. He knew several zoners who would really want to hurt the one responsible for causing damage. He can only imagine the heartbreak and damage that would come if the zoners target Snap when he turned out to be innocent.

He bit his lip as he noticed, out of his window, those same zoners from before walking down the street. It appeared that they were talkig with other zoners, no doubt about what he had been talking about. He felt guilt churn inside of him. He had to move quickly. He had to figure out, once and for all, if Snap was guilty or not.

As he prepared the schedule for Snap's next brain scan, he silently hoped that he would find something this time. If nothing showed up...

He pushed the thought out of his mind. He couldn't worry about that now. He couldn't let himself twist up in dread on what he might find. He needed to concentrate on setting up another test for Snap should he continue to not show any improvement. Then, depending on the results, he could start to consider the possibilities.

The doctor zoner grabbed his belongings and began to make his way down the corridor. He silently hoped that, for Snap's sake, something would show up on the next scan.


	10. Returning To The Crime

Oh, I can't believe, no I can't deny that all this time has gone by.

-Giving My Life, I-Exist

sss

Mint winced at the frowns he was getting from Rudy and Penny. He took a small step back, lowering his head slightly. He wasn't sure what possessed him to bring this up, but...they were running out of options, and he wasn't sure what else they could do.

Sure it was a risk in its own right. Sure it might make them look as though they don't care. But...maybe it could churn out more results. Maybe it would show them something different. The only way to know was to try.

But would they agree to it? So far, judging from their glares, it seems the answer as a no. They didn't take too kindly to Mint's suggestion. They hadn't said a word to him yet, but he could tell from the look in their eyes that they are more likely to chew him out than to comment on how good of an idea it was. He hoped they would at least hear him out, and consider the idea.

After a while of awkward silence, Mint sucked on his lip and said, "Look, I know you two must think I'm crazy, but..."

"Crazy? More like absolutely insane!" Rudy cried in disbelief.

"What makes you think that would be the best course of action, Mint?" Penny asked.

"Well I know it seems like it wouldn't work, but..." Mint tried to say.

"Of course it wouldn't work! You're asking us to abandon our mission to find out what happened for a period of six weeks..." Rudy paused when Mint held up one finger. "Okay so I exaggerated. Still...that is quite a long time. I mean...what good can come out if it?"

"I don't understand what you are getting at, Mint." Penny folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. "Stopping our search and them resuming later will not do us any good. It will just delay arresting the culprit, and allow him or her more time to act on ChalkZone and the zoners. Do you really think that's a good idea?"

In hindsight, Mint understood that his plan sounded absolutely insane. It was the opposite of what they all wanted to do. They wanted to keep asking every day, hoping to find out something. They would hardly find out anything new, and when they do, it was usually not that interesting. He could see why Rudy and Penny would think stopping that for a while wasn't going to help. They wouldn't understand how it could achieve more results.

But Mint think that it could help them. There was an aspect of this they weren't seeing. Something that he picked up on during one of their most recent excursions trying to find information. If they were willing to listen, and they paid attention as he spoke, maybe they could come to understand why he was wanting to do this.

Yes, it came with its own risk. It might put them all in further danger, allowing the culprit time to act again. But sometimes, to bring about justice, unusual and risky steps must be taken. This was no different.

"Allow me to explain." Mint said, holding his finger up to keep Rudy and Penny's attention on him. "There is a strategy behind this."

"Oh this I have to hear." Penny said, cocking up an eyebrow. "I don't see strategy from sitting around, doing nothing."

"That shocks me, Penny." Mint glanced over at her. "I would think that you, of all people, would get it."

Penny narrowed her eyes a little more. "I would if you tell me."

"Yeah, Mint." Rudy said, lifting up a hand. "What makes you think this is a good idea? What could we possibly gain from delaying the investigation?"

Mint didn't answer right away. He closed his eyes, clearing his thoughts and organizing them. He thought about the different ways he could explain to his friends on what his idea was. Once he figured out how he was going to do it, he cleared his throat, reopening his eyes.

Then he offered his explanation.

"It's simple really. I don't know why this didn't occur to me before. I know you all want to find out more information. Believe me, so do I. But what if us constantly asking questions is scaring away the culprit? This should be pretty obvious to all of us. Of course it would. Any one zoner we spoke to could be the one, and they are just going to use the same rehearsed line to keep us away, and we may end up causing the culprit to leave, then we'll never know until they strike somewhere much further away."

Rudy and Penny still glared at them, still looking unconvinced. Mint wasn't surprised. So he continued.

"Obviously, this is going to create a problem. How do we stop a villain that strikes somewhere that requires a plane? I wouldn't be suprised if this villain does this very thing, especially if they know that we typically are around ChalkZone City and some of the outskirt fields. So maybe they'll strike in Chalk Spain, or Chalk Australia, or somewhere else."

Mint paused for a moment. He nearly ran into a deadend, almost forgetting about another aspect. Luckily, it didn't take him long to figure out what it was. He resumed his speech.

"And what of the zoners? If we keep going around, asking them the same questions over and over, isn't that going to stress them out? Isn't that going to make it harder for them to answer?" Mint inquired. Rudy and Penny glanced at each other, but said nothing. "I don't know about you two, but if I were asked the same thing nearly day after day, I would find it harder for me to come up with any new information; I'd just get used to rehearsing the same answers."

"How is any of this..." Rudy started to say.

"I was just getting to that." Mint replied, a slight irritation in his voice. "Please, don't interrupt me." He winced as he noticed how demanding that voice sounded. But it worked, and Rudy fell silent. Pleased with this, Mint said, "Now, if we were to delay getting more information, and just focus our time with Snap, we would uplift the tension that permeated ChalkZone. At least some of it; the zoners may get more relaxed when they aren't reminded of the explosions via word of mouth. We could also put a false sense of security with the villain, and they wouldn't be so tempted to leave."

Penny tilted her head. "I think I see what you mean, but..I still don't know if.."

"That's understandable." Mint said, nodding his head. "This is a bit more..complicated to explain than I thought." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about that." Rudy gestured to him. "Continue. I know that can't be all you wanted to say."

Mint nodded. "With the zoners' minds a little off the incident, then we we resume our investigation, we can employ a different tactic. Not simply asking questions, but just having friendly conversations with some of the zoners we interviewed. We can subtly get information from them and compare it to what we have been told before. If we find an inconsistancy, we can investigate further." Noting his friend's expressiosn, he continued on, "While yes, there is the risk the villain could strike again, but if we trick them into thinking we gave up, they might begin making more risky moves."

Penny pursed her lip, her eye narrowed deep in thought. "That...seems like an interesting theory, Mint. But I can't say it would work."

Mint stared at her. "Why not? Why don't you think it'll work?"

"Simple. It is all guess work. Your plan runs off the chance that the zoners might know more than they really do, so waiting might turn up results, yet...maybe it won't." Penny pointed out. "If these zoners really did rehearse these lines like you say, whoever was responsible I mean, then what's to stop them from doing the same thing later on? What if he or she has it memorized and can recite it even after a long absense?"

Rudy nodded. "And besides, this villain could be smart. Maybe they would realize something was up when we stop asking questions suddenly. This would cause them not to feel more secure...but less so."

"Which in turn would make them more likely to leave, not less." Penny added in.

Mint opened his mouth to try to defend his plan, but all he could do was stare at them in shock, then shut his jaws. He looked down at the ground, feeling his stomach burn as he listened to the echoes of his friends' words in his head.

What if they were right? What if his plan could potentially make things worse? He felt his stomach twist at this realization. He couldn't believe he didn't think of it before. How could he have missed this? How could he have not noticed this detail? He should have thought things through a little better. He should have looked at more angles. He should have...

"But..."

Penny's voice cut him from his thoughts. He looked at her expectantly, curious to know what else she had to say.

Penny pressed a curled finger against the side of her cheek. "Perhaps we could sort of impliment your plan, Mint. But modify it a little."

"But I thought you said.." Mint was confused. Didn't she just say it was a bad idea to wait?

"Yeah, but I do admit, perhaps waiting a little bit wouldn't hurt." Penny said. "Perhaps instead of a week, we wait for two days."

Mint tilted his head. He looked at her in confusion. "Two days? Why just two?"

"It would give enough of a break, but it wouldn't be too long, so the culprit wouldn't get suspicious as easily." Penny explained. "This way, we might be able to get the results you want, but in less time."

"I'm not so sure." Mint admitted. "What if..."

"I think Penny has the right idea, Mint." Rudy interrupted. He raised up a finger as he began to explain. "A week may be too risky. But a couple days may work better. We could resume our investigation faster, and perhaps the zoners' minds would be more relaxed from the break. The culprit wouldn't get as easily suspicious because they aren't going to really notice us not talking to the zoners if it's only a couple of days."

"Somehow, I don't believe that." Mint narrowed his eyes. "A single day would be enough, don't you think?"

"Hmm...you might have a point there..." Rudy said, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. He remained quiet for a few moments before he finally responded. "However, I think that two days is our best bet. A week is just too long and comes with too much risks. Two days would work better."

Mint sighed softly. He knew he couldn't convince them otherwise. He had already started to doubt his own plan. He wasn't sure what he should do now. He felt a bit bad for forgetting some details that these two were able to think of relatively quickly. He wasn't sure if this could even work at all.

But he didn't want to be a downer. He didn't want to simply quit. That would be stupid. That would be the worst thing he could do. No, he would have to make do with what was availalbe. If Rudy and Penny think they can make this work, he was going to have to trust them.

Mint nodded his head. "Okay. Let's try it."

The three friends nodded in understanding to each other, all agreeing simultaneously the course of action they were going to take. They resumed their walk through the ChalkZone field, towards the portal to return home.

sss

It was something of a relief to Rudy and his friends to not have to walk all around ChalkZone, trying to find zoners they hadn't spoken to before. At the same time, it did make them feel uncomfortable. They all felt they should be doing something more to find out what was going on. But they reminded themselves that soon, they would begin the talking again.

It was going to be a bit hard to wait. Much of the time, Rudy felt the urge to say something, do something. Even though he, Mint, and Penny all agreed to wait two days, those two days didn't seem to be short enough. He had gotten so used to asking at least one zoner a question every day for the past couple weeks that it was hard to get into the groove of just...not doing that.

The zoners were confused as well. They never said anything, but he could see it in their eyes as they headed towards the hospital. The zoners had gotten used to their question-filled interactions that for them to stop, it just confused them.

Which made Rudy and his friends worry. Had they made the wrong decision in suddenly not asking any questions, even just for a few days? It was too late to go back; they had to see this through, and wait the couple days. But they all couldn't help but worry that they made things worse unintentionally.

They tried their best not to worry about it, and focused their attention on Snap. Not going around all the time gave them more time to interact with their blue and white friend, who was still hospitalized. Snap enjoyed the company, and appreciated them coming over to visit him even more. It brightened up his day and made his hospital stay more bearable.

Sadly, there was not much of an improvement on Snap's part. His memory was still quite bad. Each time, they would have to remind him of what had been going on. Penny suggested something more in depth than simple notes. A video camera. Rudy and Mint agreed it was a great idea and they set up a small camera for Snap, along with a small player for him to use whenever he wanted to. Snap liked the idea and thanked them.

But as the days passed, it was clear that Snap was still frightened of going to sleep, even with a video recorder handy. He didn't want to forget the day's events. He didn't want to close his eyes and not remember what had transpired. Rudy wished he could help his friend feel better, but he and his friends already did what they could. The only surefire way they could help him feel more secure was to stop that villain.

But that would take time. They had to wait a little longer before they would return to the crime, before they would resume their interrogations. Rudy had no idea if they made the right choice or not, and a part of him feared they made a big mistake. Yet...perhaps there would indeed be an upside to this. Only time would tell.

They did feel assured that Mosaic was keeping an eye on things. She had remained diligantly beside Snap the whole time during their visits. They didn't really get to know her that well, as she kept to herself and rarely interacted with them. But Snap assured them that she was doing a great job in watching him, and that she was pretty nice. Well for a crocodile anyway.

Rudy always felt unnerved by that stare of hers. It was like she was looking directly into his soul. He wondered if she had some kind of power. He shook the thought out of his head. Perhaps he was thinking too hard. She probably just had an intense stare.

But then...what if it was true? Maybe Mosaic was just a good judge of character? Rudy put that note into his mind for later. The doctors did say she wasn't fully sentient, so he wasn't sure how well they could communicate with her. But maybe he should put the thought in the backburner for now. Maybe Mosaic would be useful someday.

During the two day absense from interviewing the zoners, Rudy and the others didn't really notice anything strange or unusual happening. The culprit hadn't attempted to make his move. This could mean that the zoner got suspicious, or maybe they are preparing for something big.

It was too difficult to say. They all couldn't help but worry about the inaction. The zoner had been quiet for a long time. They didn't know why the culprit hadn't attempted to strike again yet. There had to be a reason for that.

Perhaps they would find out eventually. They just needed some time. The culprit will likely strike at some point, and when they do, they will be ready...or so they hoped. They were all on alert now, paying attention to as many details as possible. It was going to be harder for that zoner to make a move.

Rudy realized, near the end of the final day of waiting, that there was something else they could do. He recalled how the signal had happened before. And for a while at that. They hadn't yet tried to really talk to the zoners about that, why it wasn't common knowledge, why they didn't know. That signal was the start of this whole thing. He and the others realized that, perhaps this time, they should target the source, not the aftermath.

It was all agreed. Before they left to head home on the second day's night, they all silently agreed on what they were going to do tomorrow. They were going to go to the police station and speak to one of the head zoners there, and find out more abut this mysterious signal.

There had to be a reason why they covered it up, and they were going to find out.

sss

"Good morning, Snap." The bird zoner said as he entered the room.

Snap's eyes widened as he saw a strange, large bird zoner walk up to him. He shivered in fright, backing away on the bed. He looked left and right, realizing he was trapped in some kind of hospital room. He could hear the heart monitor going haywire as the thudding in his chest increased.

The bird zoner appeared confused by the zoner's reaction. He attempted to reassure him, but all Snap could see was a looming figure, approaching him, appearing all menacing in the light.

Snap clenched his teeth, again looking around. How did he get here? Why was he here? Who brought him here? He couldn't help but wonder if this bird zoner was responsible. Yeah..he had to be the one. He looked so...sneaky and sly. Snap's eyes thought they detected a needle in the zoner's front pocket, and he moved away even faster, scrambling to get from the zoner.

Snap attempted to get up, but when he moved his legs, he felt an intense pain. He let out a yowl of pain, falling back down, hitting his chin against the bed. He gritted his teeth, trying to cope with the pain. What happened to his legs? Why did they hurt so badly?

"Snap! Calm down!" The bird zoner cried, holding out his hand. "You're going to hurt yourself more!"

Snap did not calm down. If anything, the zoner's command made him even more desperate to get away. He moved backwards on the bed, using his arms for balance. In his struggles, he kicked the blanket over, and he could now see that he was many wires hooking up to his body, and his legs were covered in bandages. He looked from them, and then to the bird zoner.

Slowly, he bared his teeth in self defense. "Wh-What the hell did you do to me...?!"

The bird zoner seemed to be taken aback by his choice of language. "If you let me explain..."

Snap wasn't going to hear any of it. "No! You're not going to take me away! I will not be fooled!" Snap attempted to climb out of bed, prepared to use his arms to crawl away. "I'm getting out of here!"

Before Snap could get any further, something large and heavy landed on him. He let out a grunt, air escaping out of his mouth. He turned his head and he nearly screamed at the sight of a large, crocodile-like zoner standing on him. It looked at him with intense slit eyes, starting at him as though he was her prey. Snap let out another shriek and his struggles grew frantic.

"I knew it! You're going to kill me! This croc is your lackey, isn't it?!" Snap yelled, a wild look in his eyes. "You are not going to..."

Suddenly, he felt something sharp in his shoulder. He slowly turned his head. His heart skipped a beat as he saw a needle was stuck in there. His mind reeled at this. How did he miss this? How did he not see someone sneaking up on him? He turned his head up and to the side, wanting to see who had done this to him.

He narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw it was the bird zoner. He knew it..He knew the zoner was up to something. The glare vanished as cold fear entered his heart.

Now what? What was the bird zoner going to do with him? What was his big plan? How was he going to get out of this? Where were his friends?

"I'm sorry, Snap." The bird zoner said as he continued to inject the stuff into his shoulder. "You gave me no choice. I really didn't want to do this... But you need to calm down. I cannot afford to allow you to get hurt."

Snap's eyes widened at this. Realization struck him. Of course, this zoner was going to use him as bait. He only wanted him unharmed so he wouldn't die when he was tortured in front of his friends. He struggled more intensely underneath the weight of the croc zoner, jerking his body from side to side.

"Rudy will stop you!" Snap cried. "He'll make you pay for this! He'll..."

Snap's voice suddenly became slurred as the injection began to take affect. Fear swept through his body as he tried to fight against the urge to fall asleep. The world around him began to darken, and it continued this way no matter how hard he fought. The noises became distorted, and images blurred until shapes became incomprehensible.

No...He couldn't allow this. He couldn't let this guy get him. He just couldn't. He had to get away somehow.

But his strength was slowly zapped from him. He could feel his mind shutting down, his heart rate slowing, weakening. He looked up at the bird zoner, giving him a last look of fright, a final terrified whimper, before he closed them, unwillingly surrendering to whatever the zoner wanted from him.

His world went black and silent.

sss

Dr. Crobat looked down at the prone from of Snap, laying on his bed with Mosaic holding him down like she had been taught to do. He furrowed his face with concern, taking in what had just happened.

This wasn't the first time he woke up like this. Some days were better than others. But then there were days like these, where Snap woke up and immediately thought he was in danger. There were times that were so bad, he would fall out of the bed and hurt himself, or rip out the wires, which caused problems of their own.

It was hard to calm Snap down in this state. They would usually try to get him to read one of his notes, or watch one of the videos as of late, but sometimes Snap was too scared for that, and he'd knock them away. He would be next to impossible to reach mentally at that point, and the only course of action was to sedate him so he wouldn't cause harm to himself or the others around him.

He always hated to do it. He didn't want to keep knocking Snap out. He didn't know what that would be doing for his mind. The only comfort he had was that not only would Snap be safe, but his condition would not allow him to remember what happened. So when he woke up, it would always be a clean slate and he could try to take better precautions to make sure Snap didn't flip out when he first woke up.

He hoped they would find the cause of this soon. The fact he had been like this for a while now concerned him. He started to have some doubts of his earlier assumptions, of Snap somehow faking this. After seeing display after display of such primal fear, he realized that there was no way Snap could be making this up. It was hard to fake such fear and terror.

But the other zoners wouldn't see it that way. He knew they wouldn't. If he were to give the word that Snap still had no anomaly found in his head, the zoners may start to think that he was faking it. Rumors already spread even more, and he feared what might happen if the test failed.

He also feared what would happen if he lied about them. If another doctor scanned him and found nothing, he could be discredited. He had no choice but to be truthful, regardless of what he thought. Someone had to take care of Snap. Some of the other doctors might not be quite as nice with him as he was. There were already some doctors who began to suspect Snap as well...

He tried not to think about that right now. He had to keep his focus on Snap. It would be hard to kill the suspicions unless he found a way to prove his innocense. But for now, he was at a loss; focusing on a solution would be more productive than focusing on the fear of what could happen.

The bird zoner walked over towards Snap, looking down at him sympathetically. He shook his head a couple of times, then motioned for Mosaic to get off of him. As she did so, Dr. Crobat went to work rearranging him on the bed. He pulled him onto his back, and looked over his body to make sure all the wires were still in place, nothing pulled out. Once he made sure that Snap wasn't hurt further and all the needles were still stuck into him where they should be, all the monitoring equipment still attached, he pulled the blanket back over him and gently stroked the top of his head.

Poor Snap... It was a shame that this happened to him. Well it was a shame if it happened to anybody. He couldn't think of anyone he knew that he felt deserved something like this. Well maybe Skrawl, but that guy was an asshole. But Snap... He had been nothing but nice with the other zoners of this city. Why would anyone...?

He stopped when he suddenly remembered something. He recalled that he had Snap scheduled for some kind of appointment. It took him a few seconds to remember it was the scanner appointment. It was almost time for that. He'll have to prepare for that.

He looked down at Snap. Perhaps now would be the best time to do it. Snap was knocked out from the drug and he won't wake up for a while. This would give him plenty of time to run another scan. He hoped that something would turn up this time. If nothing did..

He would just have to hope for the best.

The bird zoner motioned for Mosaic to jump off. He snapped his finger and pointed to one position, a silent way of telling her to stay put. She did so. She looked from Snap, and then to him, giving him an expression that seemed to be the same as all her other ones, but to the trained eye, there was a difference. He knew what this look was.

Dr. Crobat smiled the best he could. "Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."

Mosaic stared at him. She soon settled on the ground, curling up with her spikey tail draped against her. Dr. Crobat watched her for a few moments, then proceeded to wheel Snap down the hallway.

As much as he was trying to comfort Mosaic, he wasn't sure how true his words were. All he could do was hope and pray that, this time, something, anything, would show up on the scanners. Something to prove that Snap was innocent.

He would hate to be the one to declare the message that would surely incite the zoners against him...

sss

Snap winced as he opened up his eyes. His mind was so muggy, so confused. He couldn't tell where he was at first. He moved his eyes from side to side, noting the color of beige everywhere. Light and dark, all intermixed together, and there was some kind of rounded shape. He also felt the strange sensation of being enclosed...and yet still open, roomy.

He tried to shift himself, but he realized he was strapped down. Strangely, that didn't seem to strike him with much fear. He was unusually calm. Even though he was confused about this, his relaxed mind didn't care enough to really do much. He just laid there, feeling so relaxed that he wanted to fall asleep again.

He could hear a low hum all aroud him. Kind of loud, yet also soothing at the same time. It went in intervals, sometimes louder, sometimes softer, sometimes slower, and sometimes faster. It all went in a rhythm, and through this, he felt more and more relaxed.

He soon realized he must be in a machine of some kind. But why was he here? Where were his friends? Where was everyone? Did something happen to him? His confused thoughts were barely registered, his mind too tranquil to worry too much about what was going on. It felt as though there was a cloud over his mind, keeping him from thinking too much. And he was grateful for it. All he wanted to do now was close his eyes again and sleep.

Suddenly, a face popped into his head. His eyes snapped open further. Though still relaxed, he did start to feel a slight tinge of fear as something invaded his mind.

Images...lots of images.. Still, like snapshots in time. They flooded, sorting themselves together in a row, and it felt like he was in a dark room, looking at them all. He shut his eyes tightly, and the images appeared to become more clear, circling him almost like a vulture.

The pictures..they were of some place that he seemed to recognize. A building, marble and stone...tall and pointed... And then the many zoners. One zoner he spoke to... Yes, he remembered this now. The zoners at the party. This was the party. As he remembered more, the more animated the scene became. Going from jerky to smooth in a matter of seconds. He could see himself, hear himself, in these mind images.

He remembered all this. It was so familiar...this was the party he had been to. The party that he had been invited to, for his stopping of the machine. This was where Sandra had...

At that name, he suddenly felt a twist in his chest. A burning sensation, a cross between anger and betrayal. He didn't have a moment to think of why as more images came into his mind. He suddenly saw something explode, the blazing white fire, and then Sandra standing there. He could see her face, plain as day, staring down at him. Then she reached down and...

Suddenly the mind video stopped, and rapidly became jerky again. Then it transformed back into the still images as they once where, and he felt them leave his mind. He felt a little panicked at first, but soon as they were gone, his mind felt at ease. He no longer remembered the scary images he had seen, and he was now back in a tranquil state.

Snap slowly closed his eyes. The machine's hum became his lullaby. He soon drifted off, becoming unaware of the world once more.

sss

Sandra grumbled softly to herself. She had gotten too careless. If she hadn't gotten here when she had, then everything was going to be ruined. She was grateful that there was a window here that she could see through. As soon as she realized Snap was being pushed into the machine, she had acted quickly, just in the nick of time.

If that machine had finished its job before she could make her move.. She shuddered to think about it. Oh well, at least she was able to do what she wanted, and her secret was still safe.

She watched as Snap was being pulled out of the machine. She smiled as she saw the doctors glance at each other in confusion. It was clear they had seen nothing while the zoner was pushed into there. Her plan was working thus far. It was imperative that they remained clueless. So long as she was careful, they would be.

She felt a pang of guilt. She did her best to push it away. Not wasn't the time to feel guilty, and she knew that. She couldn't waste anymore time here. She had to get going, before someone spotted her lurking around this part of the building. She had been lucky last time; she didn't want to push it again.

There was a part of her who wanted to tell Snap what she had been doing. A part of her who wanted to assure him that it would be all over soon. She wanted to help him through this. There was so much she wanted to do.

But she knew she could not do it. Snap had to go through this on his own. She couldn't interfere; she had to keep the process going. Snap had a lot to learn, and he had to do it on his own. He needed to suffer alone so he could fully grasp the consequences. He needed to learn what it felt like for her before she could truly forgive him, before he was worthy of being let go. And if he never learned it..

She would try to make it as quick as possible for him.

Sandra's ears twitched and she realized that someone was coming. She had to get out of here fast. It could be one of the security officers. The last thing she wanted was to get spotted and then have suspicion thrown onto her. She turned and quickly left the premises.

sss

Rudy narrowed his eyes as he stared at the police officer. He did his best to keep his anger under control, not wanting to draw unwanted attention from his comrades all around them. They had been allowed to speak with him, but the comrades were authorized to use force if they were to lose control of themselves.

Rudy would have felt appalled by this lack of trust, but right now, his mind was on something else entirely. He glared at the zoner, his thoughts running rapidly through his head as he tried to piece together what had been happening.

"You...you can't deny this..." Rudy said, his teeth gritted. "You have been deliberately hiding information!"

The police officer cocked an eyebrow. "I think you need to relax, kid. We didn't do anything wrong."

"You did nothing wrong?!" Penny stopped herself, appearing to realize she was getting a little too worked up. She sucked in a deep breath and she continued, "You are lying. We spoke to some other zoners, including other police officers, and they all confirm that there were problems going on, and that you never told anyone!"

The police officer, who called himself Granite, merely chuckled at this. But it wasn't an evil laugh or a scheming one that Rudy would have expected. It was a calmer, more amused laugh than anything. But that did little to calm him down. The only thing it did was make him even more suspicious.

Granite looked at his fellow cops all around him. He had the trio surrounded; that was the only way he'd allow them to speak to him. Rudy felt uncomfortable like this, but he did his best to keep himself collected. He wondered if this was part of Granite's plan. To make him unnerved so he would slip up.

Yet Granite's facial features remained mostly soft. He looked, at the very least, annoyed with what they had been telling him. But he did not make a threatening move towards them, and he insisted that his comrades wouldn't hurt them if they were to take action. Just hold them down at most. But none of them wanted to take that chance, and they did their best to keep their distance away from Granite.

"Dear, the reason why we never told anyone was because nothing happened before now." Granite said, allowing the information that was given to him to roll off his back like it was nothing. "You are overreacting. Everything had been fine before. There had been no incidents prior to this." He made a motion with his flattened hand to emphasize. "We can promise you that. We would have told you before."

"What of those other zoners we spoke to?" Mint pointed an accusatory finger in the humanoid zoner's direction. "What about what they had said?"

Granite smirked at this, his mouth stretching almost unnaturally across his face. "Oh dear boy, you shouldn't pay attention to them. Some of them are a little crazy. The signal probably had a lasting effect on them and made them say things that weren't true."

Rudy and his friends glared at this. Despite the fact that Granite was speaking in a polite, calm voice, that didn't make them any less suspicious of him. Something wasn't right about this. Most zoners they spoke to confirm the signal was around for a while. Yet this zoner claimed they were all crazy...

They had their doubts of that. It just didn't seem to make any sense. Why would a ton of zoners claim this one fact, and then all be lying? Not all the zoners had been afflicted by the signal after all. Something just didn't add up here. The more they looked at Granite, the more they began to distrust him. They couldn't help but wonder if he was hiding anything.

It just seemed way too strange for the vast majority of ChalkZone City to claim a longer lasting signal and then having all them be crazy. If this had been a smaller group of zoners claiming this, it would have been fine, but for most of the city to say it? Something about that just didn't seem right.

But Rudy didn't see a point in continuing to argue with him about this. It was clear that Granite was going to continue denying this until his last breath. His comrades would back him up, affirming everything he said. He would not listen to them, and he, just like he had been during their discussion, would just counteract anything they threw at him. They wasted enough time here. They should head somewhere else. Maybe they'd have better luck elsewhere.

"Thank you for your time." Rudy said, doing his best to sound calm and collected. He reached out his hand, shaking Granite's in his. "We appreciate it."

"No problemo, kiddo." Granite said, smiling almost creepily. "If I find out anything, I will let you know."

"Okay, thanks." Rudy said.

He rushed out of there, hurrying his friends along. He wanted to get as far away from Granite as possible. He would rather not see him again for however long possible. And he wanted to be far enough away so he could speak to his friends a bit.

Only when he was certain they were safe did any of them speak.

"I don't trust him..." Mint said, glaring back down the hallway where the policemen were. "Something about him just..rubs me the wrong way."

"Yeah. How can he say there was no signal so...so bluntly like that?" Penny narrowed her eyes, folding her arms against her chest. "That just seems quite illogical."

Rudy nodded his head in agreement. "I think he's hiding something. He might be working for the culprit."

This caused Penny and Mint to exchange nervous glances. The mere thought of a corruption in the police system sent shivers down their spine. They knew it happened in the Real World, and now, they were encountering a possible ChalkZone equivilant.

"That is possible." Penny said. "Or he could have his own agenda. Either way, his actions are...quite questionable. It's clear to me that he is hiding information, or was."

"He was doing a pretty poor job of it, too." Mint pointed out. "The zoners already knew, so what did he have to gain from lying to us about it, and telling us they are all crazy?"

"It was like he didn't want us to know, but why?" Penny furrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "There has to be a reason..."

Rudy said, "Yeah, I agree. Something just isn't adding up..."

Rudy knew something was up with this. Why would the officer attempt to lie to them? He tried to think of all the reasons, but he only drew a blank. It left him with a feeling of confusion and uncertainty. He knew they would have to keep an eye on this officer in the near future. None of them knew what he had planned, or what he wanted.

But at the moment, they would have to put this on the back burner. There was somewhere else they had to be right now. One other person to speak to before they went back to visit Snap to report their findings.

He took a moment to reflect on how much time had passed since that accident. It stung his heart knowing that, in spite of all the time that passed, the two weeks, plus the days Snap had been awake, they still haven't found anything fully conclusive, nothing to bring the culprit to justice. He hoped to change that soon.

"We have to head to the hospital now." Rudy said. "We need to talk to another security officer regarding the...well, security system."

"We already spoke to practically all of them." Mint said, a slightly annoyed tone to his voice. "What makes you think any one left is going to say something different?"

"Well, you never know. Plus, we do need to return to the scene of the crime." Penny said. She soon corrected herself. "Well one of them. Obviously we can't look around that one building where Snap was trapped in. That place is guarded and off limits. They consider it a hazard zone and some parts are still falling down."

This made Rudy shiver. He couldn't imagine just how powerful the blast could have been for the place to still be falling apart. He recalled one of the citizen zoners stating that they were afraid of trying to do anything with the building because they didn't know if there was still a fire still blazing down inside. The thought of a fire still rampaging through made Rudy fill his heart with dread.

"This signal is connected with the incident regarding Snap. I'm certain of it." Penny said. "If we learn more about this signal, we may learn more about the culprit and ultimately find him or her."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's get going." Rudy said. He looked down the hallway and winced when he saw shadows moving along it. "The sooner we are out of here, the better."

Without saying another word, the three friends rushed through the building. It didn't take them long to get out of the police station. They looked back at it, glaring softly, and then shifted their attention to the street. They began their walk to the hospital.

sss

"You're kidding me, right?" Penny said, her eyes wide. "You sure you...?"

The security officer shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I already told you all I knew. And that is apparently things you had known for yourself." The security officer bit his lip. "If I knew anything else, I would have told you."

The three friends glanced at each other, then back at the officer. They had tried numerous times, but the zoner always said the same thing. Things they already knew. The security going haywire in certain places, some patients acting up, nothing specific that they didn't already know. No matter what they said, the answers were still the same.

The security officer seemed to start getting annoyed by their constant questioning. He took a few steps back, though made no attempt to run. He glared at them almost accusatory, silently wondering why they keep pestering him.

Penny chewed on her lip. There had to be something they could get from this guy. Anything at all. Someone around here had to know more about this signal and what it was doing. This zoner had to know something. Someone had to know more. There was just..no way there couldn't be at least one zoner who could tell them more. Perhaps this zoner could be their lucky one.

"You don't have any theories?" Rudy asked.

"No ideas on what the culprit could have been after? What they could possibly gain from messing with the security like that?" Mint inquired.

The security officer shook his head. "Not unless he wanted to steal some hospital stuff, which I don't think many would find valuable enough to steal. Unless this guy is hurt, in which case, he or she could have just come here for help, or they would be too hard to come up with a convoluted plan like this." The security officer raised his hands in the air to emphasize.

"Isn't there anything else?" Penny wasn't convinced. "The systems were targeting patients right?"

"Well yes. Mostly the most sickly ones." The security officer nodded. "But it's not like they have anything of value."

"Except for their lives." Penny said. Rudy and Mint stared at her, eyes widening. Penny bit her lip, feeling a sickening feeling tug at her stomach. She lowered her head. "That's what they have to offer."

The security offer blinked in her direction and then started to laugh. Penny stared at him in shock, feeling offended by this outburst of laughter. Rudy and Mint glared at him as well. None of them said a word, and just glared angrily at the zoner that was laughing at their expense.

"Oh don't make me laugh, girl." The zoner finally said after that sudden outburst. "The only deaths around here had been natural ones. The patient just couldn't recover and passed away due to whatever injury or illness they had gotten. They weren't caused by some stupid signal."

"How do you know?" Mint took a few steps towards the zoner. There was some aggression in his voice. "How could you know when the security systems in those areas were messed up?!" The security officer narrowed his eyes. Mint raised his hands into the air. "You can't possibly be that stupid, can you?!"

The security officer growled and pushed Mint away. "I've had it with you and your attitude, kid." He pinned Mint up against the wall, much to Penny and Rudy's horror. "If I hear you cop another attitude again, I'll..."

"Leave him alone!" Rudy shouted at him. "He didn't mean it!"

The security officer glared at Rudy and then turned his attention back to Mint. After a long, cold stare, he released him, letting the boy fall to the ground. Rudy rushed over and helped him up. He asked if he was okay, and Mint appeared to be fine.

Penny shot a glare to the security officer. "How could you treat my friend like that?"

The security officer curled his lip back in a snarl. "He was asking for it." He turned his back to her. "Now I must get going. I wasted enough time with you."

Oh no, he was not going to get away that easily. Penny was not going to stand by and let him just walk away like this. With her eyes narrowed, Penny rushed forward, putting herself in front of the retreating zoner. He stared at her, wide-eyed, and attempted to move around her. Penny kept repositioning herself, blocking his way out.

Penny knew she was being a little more aggressive than she normally was. But she had to do this. There had to be more information this zoner knew. She wasn't going to just let him walk away like this. Not before he told her what she wanted to know. She had to find a way to get that information, and after that little display with her friend...

She was more than convinced that this zoner knew something. He sounded way too defensive to just simply be offended by Mint's words.

"Is there something you aren't telling us? Something that you are hiding?" Penny asked, her eyes narrowed. She did her best to hide her anger. That would do her no good here. When the zoner didn't answer, she took a step forward. "You sound like you were trying to hide a piece of information from us. You claim the zoners died of natural causes, but do you really believe that?"

The security officer stared at her, and then puffed up his chest. "Well of course I do! That's what their official diagnosis was! I..." He grabbed onto his head, digging his fingernails into his skin. "Look, I'm not the one who runs the joint with the patients. I'm just in charge of the security system. All I can tell you is that the areas with the most sickly and weak patients were affected, as well as some of their machines."

Penny's eyes widened at this. "Their machines?" She remembered something about that, but she didn't ask in too much detail before. "What was going on?"

"Inaccurate readings mostly. More annoying than anything, or so the doctors have said." The security officer said. "But there were a few cases involving those machines pumping fluid into the patient. I don't know the details, other than they began to decrease or increase how fast they went in, both of which eventually became problematic for the patients."

"Oh my..." Penny gasped.

"Oh it was all good." The security officer waved his hand back and forth. "There was nothing wrong with the patient afterwards. The machines were fixed, and everything was fine."

"And you are certain that the equipment malfunctions didn't kill anyone?" Rudy asked, who was still with Mint not far away. "Are you absolutely sure none of the doctors said anything about it?"

"Yes, I'm sure." The security officer snapped. He gritted his teeth together, grinding them. "I told you what I knew. Now can I go?"

Penny narrowed her eyes. She wasn't sure if this zoner had really told them everything. But she could see how frustrated he was getting, and they weren't going to get much of anything out of him while he was frustrated like this. So as reluctant as she was, their only option was to let him go. They can always try talking to another one later.

With a simple nod, she took a step to the side, allowing the zoner to walk by her. The security officer brushed himself off and made his way down the hall. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. He gave them all a soft glare before he continued down. The children glared after him, watching him as he disappeared down the hallway.

"Well that was a waste of time." Mint muttered. "He didn't know anything."

"Or he was hiding something." Rudy corrected. He turned his head to face his two friends. "Either way, he wasn't exactly a bag of information. He merely just reiterated what we already knew. That doesn't help us much."

"He did make it seem likely that some patients had been killed by this culprit, which is a suspicion we already had. But right now, that is merely speculation. We don't have any proof of this, and even if we do dig up their bodies from the grave, which I don't recommend that we do, we could just find signs of natural causes, nothing pinpointing murder." Penny explained.

"It is scary. Why would this culprit be targeting patients in a hospital? It seems so...underhanded..." Mint shuddered at the thought, cringing.

"We don't know yet if that's what they are doing. The security officer could be right." Rudy said. "The attack on the hospital might not have been an attack at all. Maybe it was just a distraction of some kind, or maybe this culprit merely wanted to have fun."

Penny narrowed her eyes at this. "They certainly had a lot of fun murdering all those zoners and hurting Snap."

Rudy winced at this. "Yeah..point taken. Maybe the culprit really was trying to harm these zoners. He or she certainly doesn't seem to be above it."

The thought chilled them all to the core. The idea of someone deliberately targeting zoners who were too weak or sick to fight back...it was absolutely appalling. What kind of sick person would do such a thing? These zoners went to the hospital to be treated. They expected to get well again. But now the one place where they had hope of returning to a normal life had been under siege. And who knows if it would get attacked again?

The behavior of some of the zoners here didn't help. Penny hadn't exactly been thrilled with how they were treated by the security officer, or the plain denial of the police. Both of them had grated on her nerves, and she had a hard time believing just how uncooperative they both had been, not to mention how uncaring they seemed of the situation.

Then a thought crossed her mind. What if their behavior was the result of the machine? Maybe even just some lasting effects? Yeah it was probably too hardly to make that call. Still, there was the possibility the machine had some thing to do with it. It would make sense. Wouldn't the culprit want to make sure that some of the higher ups didn't do anything to stop them? If patients had actually gone missing, that could explain it.

She didn't know why she didn't think of this possibility before, back when they were dealing with that cop zoner. The signs should have been obvious. She should have realized something was just off. There was simply no reason why the cop would lie about something that was common knowledge. Not unless his mind had been messed with.

It was making sense now. Maybe this was why they hadn't been informed. Perhaps the officer had been controlled and, since he was the one in charge, maybe he had forced the zoners to not tell them anything, fully convinced that it was nothing. But since she and her friend now knew the truth, the officer's effects didn't really do much and the zoners could talk freely about it.

If this is the case, then just how far did it go? What other zoners had been affected? Is the affliction permanent, or did a new machine get turned on? Penny shuddered at the possibilities.

"Penny?" Rudy asked, staring at her with concern. "What's wrong? Did you think of something?"

Penny nodded her head. "I think I know what might be going on with those zoners..." She paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. She looked over at her friends, noting their curious expressions. She then spoke, "This may be the work of that culprit." At this, Rudy and Mint looked at each other, and then back at Penny, their eyes widened in horror. "This whole place had just become a crime scene... The culprit is responsible for the odd behaviors we had seen. I'm sure of it, just like they are responsible for the machine malfunctions, security flaws, and that explosion that killed those zoners and hurt our friend."

"But why..." Mint's voice trailed off, his eyes widening in shock. "Wait..."

Rudy completed his thought for him. "Are you saying that the machine might be turned back on, or there's something else going on, and that the culprit was messing with zoners' heads so that we wouldn't find out what was going on?"

Penny nodded her head. "Pretty much. I mean, we already knew about it, but obviously, it could still be going on. The culprit seems to be smart enough for this. They might be screwing around with more zoner minds so that we don't get the information that we want, or perhaps their memories had been altered somehow." Penny gritted her teeth at this. "We are being played."

Mint and Rudy winced at this, looking at her, apprehensive. They all knew what this meant. There was no denying it.

The crime had gotten even bigger. And they were being pulled right into it.

Before they could continue, they heard something going on somewhere. They heard a low rumble. No, not a rumble, more like chattering, like a lot of people talking at once. They looked at each other, wondering what was going on. They couldn't tell where it was coming from at first, and it just seemed to come from everywhere. It took them a while to guess a general location. They began to walk down the hallway, towards the sound.

As it got louder, confirming they were going in the right direction, the sound began to get more distinct, more distinguished. It soon became clear that, whatever was making the noise, it was a lot of smaller nosies doing it. This wasn't just one big noise coming from one centralized location. Instead, it was many smaller noises together, joining forces to make this rumbling sound.

They continued down the hallway, quickening their pace as the noises got louder and easier to make out. They all wondered what was going on, and why this sound suddenly went off. As they ran, they bumped into a few doctors, some of which looked just as confused as they were by the sudden, almost rumbly sound, which gradually grew more and more dissipate the further they went down the corridor.

Eventually, they began to realize what it was. They widened their eyes in shock at the realization, unable to believe it for themselves. Even as the noise became more and more clear, it was hard for them to wrap their heads around it.

The noise was a bunch of zoners.

Indeed, as they got closer, the noise sounded more and more like voices. Talking...a lot of talking. From the sound of it, Penny guessed there were at least twenty zoners outside. From how muddled their voices had sounded before, she guessed they were all tightly packed together.

Why were the zoners gathering outside? Why had they all came here? For what purpose? Had they heard what was going on with the security system and were merely demanding improvement?

No...that couldn't be it. The zoners sounded way too angry, and their tone suggested something more personal than something more broad. They sounded as if they had been cheated, and they sounded as if they wanted to take their frustrations out on the ChalkZone City hospital. Penny hoped that the zoners would remain there until they came out and learn what was going on.

Soon, she and the others began to hear nasty words. They were able to make out more of what they were saying. Not that it was much of an improvement. Some of the things they were hearing...it was awful.

"Snap, this is all your fault!"

"I can't believe we actually trusted you!"

"Come on out, coward!"

"You will pay for your crimes!"

Blood chilled in their veins. In that instant, they all knew that the zoners were blaming Snap for what had happened. There was no doubt about that. This made them rush faster, all determined to defend their friend from these zoners.

It didn't take them much longer to get out of the building, but for them, it felt like hours had passed. Brushing past the swinging double doors, Penny and her friends rushed out towards the crowd. They came out just in time to hear some more terrible stuff.

"There was no way it was an accident!" A male zoner said, holding up a closed fist. "How could he have survived that explosion, but not my friend?!"

"He must have rigged it himself! The little traitor!" A small, child-like zoner yelled, others behind her nodding in agreement.

"I say we..."

"Enough!" Rudy shouted as he, Penny, and Mint got into position in front of the angered zoners.

The crowd fell silent at the voice. They seemed to finally realize that the three creators had come out of the hospital. Their response was to look even angrier, baring their teeth and growling in their direction. Though their cold stares pierced their souls, sending ice through their veins, the friends did not back down.

Rudy took a step forward, staring out into the crowd. Penny thought it was pretty brave of him to go up and face the zoners like this. They looked like they wanted to tear them apart. Despite that, Rudy stood his ground, straightening up and clearly trying to look confident.

"What the hell is going on here?"


	11. Accusations

Black tongues speak faster than the car can crash! You supply the rumors and I'll provide the wrath.

-Blue, The Birthday Massacre

sss

"What the hell is going on?"

Rudy couldn't believe how harsh and cold he sounded. He hadn't meant to come off like that. But at the moment, anger and shock was growing in the back of his head, and the tension the crowd was giving off didn't exactly help things either.

Mint and Penny stood beside him, staring off at the crowd. They wore glares on their faces, but he could see the confusion in them. Like him, they didn't know what was going on, why the crowd was here, or why they seemed to hate Snap so much. But they were going to find out. These zoners are going to tell them what is going on, and from there, they could begin to take the steps to fix it.

Rudy couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated. In front of him was a large group of zoners. Twenty, thirty at least. There was little space between them, as they stood really close to each other. All of them looked really hostile, ready to attack someone if they got too close. Several zoners were his height, but there were occassionally larger zoners that towered over them. Most of the zoners were humanoid, with some beast-like ones among the crowd. Their glares seemed to pierce right through his heart, making him want to cringe away.

But he stood his ground. He didn't have much of a choice. He couldn't allow this crowd to cause trouble for his friend. Snap already had to deal with so much. He didn't need this added onto it.

He couldn't help but wonder just what worked these zoners up into a frenzy. When he, Mint, and Penny had done their interviewing before, none of the zoners appeared to hold any hostility towards Snap. Now, suddenly, they were like this. He didn't know if this was the work of the machine, or repressed anger, or something else.

Soon, they were going to find out.

One of the zoners that spoke before, a young-looking male, took a step forward. He appeared to be the one willing to speak for the crowd. Rudy glanced at him, and wondered if he was the main ringleader behind this whole thing, or if he was just a higher up.

The zoner pointed a finger in Rudy's direction. "We know Snap is responsible for that explosion! We demand that you have him arrested!" Behind him, many zoners shouted in agreement, nodding their heads.

Rudy's eyes widened at this. "How can you say that? Snap had been injured! He has brain damage! How can you..."

"He's the one who has been causing problems all along! It's always been him!" The zoner cried, his teeth gritted against each other. "If you were the Guardian of ChalkZone, you would deal with him!"

"But you won't, will you? Because Snap is your precious creation, you wouldn't dare think he'd be capable of such heartlessness!" The zoner standing next to him shouted.

"He was injured! He's a victim too!" Penny cried, staring off into the crowd with widened, shock-filled eyes. "I can't believe all of you... How could you think that Snap would do this?" She held her hands out in gesture. "What in the world has he done to make you think that he could just turn on a dime like this?!"

It was Mint's turn to speak. "He has done nothing but help you guys, even before I came here. He stopped an invasion of minerbites from tearing your world apart! He's wrestled with Skrawl, took on a robotic version of Rudy, and that isn't getting into everything." He took a step forward. "How could you think that he was some kind of evil zoner, waiting to strike in the middle of the night?!"

The lead zoner sneered at him. "So says the Enemy Creator."

At this, Rudy's heart skipped a beat. He turned his head, staring at Mint. He could see his eyes had widened in shock, his body losing some of the tension it had before. Enemy Creator... Hardly anyone ever called Mint that anymore. Only those few zoners who still held reservations against him...

"Yeah, why should we listen to you?!" Snapped one zoner in the far back.

"Yeah!" Agreed a large female around the middle. "You are the one who tried to release the minerbites on us! How do we know you aren't planning something with Snap?"

Mint stammered. "I-I..." He took a step back. He looked over at Penny and Rudy, his eyes wide with shock and uncertainty. He appeared to be trying to call to them for help, his lips smacking in nervousness. He turned his head back towards the group. He bit his lip, then narrowed his eyes. "No..."

The lead zoner chuckled at this. "Of course you would deny it. You just want to let our guard down so you can attack us in the back!"

Mint cut off the zoners before they could say anything else. "Now you listen here! I know I wasn't the nicest person when I came here. I know that I hurt so many zoners with my selfishness. I made mistakes, and I acknowledge that. But I had changed, and took the steps necessary to help fix ChalkZone. If you are willing to deny that, then that's your problem."

Rudy and Penny offered a small smile at this. They were proud of their friend standing up for himself. It was a shame that there were some zoners who wouldn't move on, and continued to live in the past. Mint was right; it was the zoners' problem if they chose to keep that grudge.

The zoners seemed a bit surprised that Mint stood up for himself this time. He usually ignored them, but this time, he spoke back. They looked at each other, soft murmuring permeating the area. At first, it seemed like it was going to be over, and the trio could move on with what they were going to do.

But that didn't last too long.

Slowly, the glares returned. Mint gulped but stood his ground, as did Rudy and Penny. The zoners took on slightly more hostile postures, as though they thought one of them was going to draw something to attack them with. Rudy didn't get why they were acting this way. He couldn't understand what would bring on such behavior so suddenly.

"Be that as it may, Enemy Creator..." The lead zoner spat. "But our position still stands." He looked at some of his comrades, and they exchanged unreadable glances. "We know that Snap is the only one who could have caused that explosion and get away unharmed. He was the one who set it up, and tricked those zoners into going in there. He murdered them!"

Rudy clenched his teeth, glaring at the lead zoner. He didn't need to look at Penny or Mint to know that they were doing the same thing. They adopted defensive postures just in case one of the zoners decided to attack.

Rudy had a hard time believing that the zoners really thought Snap did this. Why would they think that? What did Snap do to get this kind of response? The poor guy had been badly hurt, unable to walk, and he was suffering from memory issues. He couldn't even leave the hospital. What kind of master plan did these zoners think he was trying to achieve with a scheme that got himself injured? None of it made any sense.

He was certain that they were going to also blame Snap for the machinery. The thought heated his blood up more. Snap had destroyed that machine, and he was positive that some of these zoners had been saved by his friend that way. The idea of them repaying Snap through accusations was just...terrible.

Rudy hoped that these nasty rumors spreading about Snap were going to remain in small portions of ChalkZone City. Though that was wishful thinking. He had a hunch that a lot more zoners than these had heard the rumors that he knew at least one zoner had started to spread. By now, most of ChalkZone probably knows, and that meant many zoners than these may believe Snap is truly responsible. He could only hope that some of the zoners didn't fall into this bullcrap that easily, and realize that the rumors were incorrect.

As much as he wanted to leave, he needed to speak more with the zoners. He needed to quell their anger the best he can, for fear that the zoners may start to attack the hospital, injuring their friend and other innocent patients and doctors in the process. But to do that, he needed a better understanding of just how they were thinking. There had to be a reason why they were thinking Snap was somehow responsible.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard more harsh cries from the enraged zoners.

"Arrest Snap! Arrest the traitor!"

"Bag him and drag him away!"

"Hogtie and gag him before he can spew out more venom!"

"He needs to be punished for making us all believe he was a hero!"

Rudy growled at this, baring his teeth. Some of the zoners quieted down as they noticed his anger. The group as a whole began to look more nervous, and they hunched their backs as if they thought Rudy was going to attack. Realizing what he was doing, Rudy managed to settle himself down, adopting a somewhat more neutral stance.

"Look..." Rudy raised up his hands, lowering them in front of him rapidly a few times. "I know you are having a hard time believing this, but Snap wasn't responsible for that explosion. I know Snap better than that. I'm not sure what made you all believe he was the culprit, but I assure you, he isn't. Penny, Mint, and I are doing all we can to find the real culprit."

The crowd was silent for a while. The zoners had blank expressions, tilting their heads, speaking softly to each other. It seemed almost like, at first, Rudy had gotten through to them. But that soon turned out to be incorrect as the zoners began to look angry again. Rudy flinched as he noticed some looked angrier than before, as if his words did nothing but offend them.

"Of course you'd defend Snap! You are his creator! You just won't admit that he has become a monster!" The lead zoner snarled at him. "We can't count on you to convinct the real culprit, because the real culprit is in that blasted building!" He pointed a finger towards the hospital. "And you.." He shoved his finger towards Rudy. "You won't take responsibility and arrest him!"

"Even if Snap was the cause, he can't be arrested unless there is proper evidence!" Penny spoke up. "Where is your proof that Snap was resposnible?"

At this, the crowd said nothing. They merely glanced at one another, silently asking each other if they had what Penny had requested. When it became clear that they did not have any evidence, Penny folded her arms and gave a small, bitter smile to the zoners.

"You don't have any evidence, do you? You are all just going off on a hunch. You think that, just because you say you believe Snap is the culprit, it automatically means that he is warranted to getting arrested? Is that how you think this world works? Sorry, but there is a saying. Innocent until proven guilty."

Mint nodded. "Perhaps you lot should practice that sometime."

The lead zoner stared, wide-eyed, before narrowing them again, curling his lips back into a snarl. "We don't need evidence. We already have a compelling argument. One that, if you took the time and used your common sense to think about, you would realize we are right."

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. "Oh really? Then tell us."

"What do you know about Snap and the explosion that is strong enough to tie him there?" Mint asked.

The lead zoner leaned slightly back, straightening his spine out to make himself appear taller. A mixture of confidence and dominance seemed to radiate all around him. The other zoners took small steps away, making room for him, a clear sign of respect to the zoner.

"Snap was the last one to show up at that party before the explosion. I should know. I saw him walking in there as I passed by. Nothing happened until shortly after he had arrived. No one else came after him. I don't know what he planned on doing with that machine of his, but it was clearly something awful. Now that he doesn't have the machine to do the killing for him, he turned to killing zoners themselves. He set up the party, and came late to trick everyone into thinking he couldn't set up those bombs or whatever they were in time. But I know better.."

The lead zoner's voice filled with anger, becoming a bit higher pitched as time went on. Rudy, Penny, and Mint glared at him, but dared not to interrupt.

"Snap had to set everything up first. He studied that building inside and out. Then he set up the explosives, keeping in mind where they were before he made his mode. He waited until everyone he invited was lured into that building. Then he pretended to sneak off to...oh whatever, use the bathroom or something. And that was one he did it."

"You can't be serious..." Mint breathed.

"Oh I am, Enemy Creator. Snap snuck off and waited until he was a good distance away before he set off the explosion. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get far enough away, and he ended up hit by the explosion. His own that he himself had set up."

"That's insane!" Rudy cried, his heart clenching. "You're just making wild claims based on nothing but your own emotional..!"

"Am I?!" The lead zoner snapped at him, cutting him off. "Then how do you explain why Snap was the only survivor? Why everyone else in the building died, and yet Snap escaped with just burned legs? Why the explosion only happened after he arrived at the party?"

Rudy wanted to reply, but at the moment, he was seething in anger. He locked eyes on the zoner, unable to look away. The eyes were intense, seemingly staring right through his soul. Rudy was so tempted to take a step back, yet he remained frozen there. His mind swam with thoughts, a torrent of emotions rising up inside of him.

This...this was why the zoners were blaming Snap? They were just going off on a hunch? They got a little suspicious of the fact that his friend escaped with burned legs while all other zoners died from the fire or wounds due to the flames?

A low growl escaped Rudy's throat. The lead zoner apparently heard this, and he arched his back in self defense. Rudy continued to glare at him. These zoners...they weren't being fair to Snap. And they were too angry to see that.

"I do agree that it does seem a little odd." Penny said, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully. Rudy and Mint looked over at her in shock, both wondering why she would say that. But soon, Penny glared back into the crowd, and even before she spoke again, it was clear what her stance was. "But that is no excuse to accuse our friend like that. You can't just take thoughts and hunches and use them as evidence. If you want us to believe that Snap was responsbile..."

Penny walked forward. She glared directly at the lead zoner in charge. She didn't stop until she was within a foot of him. They locked eyes onto each other, and for a couple seconds, there was a tense silence.

Penny lifted up a finger and pressed it against his shoulder. "Provide some evidence."

The lead zoner stared at her. His pupils moved from her face, to her finger, and repeated a few times. He snarled and raised his hand. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but he soon shut it. With a low, disgusted growl, he backhanded Penny against her face. The girl let out a surprised cry as she fell into the ground.

"Penny!" Rudy cried. He and Mint rushed to her side. Rudy looked down at her worriedly. "Are you okay?"

Penny stared up at Rudy, and nodded her head. "Y-Yeah.." She pushed herself onto her hands. Then she worked her legs underneath her body and pushed herself back up. She glared back at the zoner with a single eye. "I'm fine."

Mint shot a glare at the lead zoner. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

The lead zoner sneered at them. "The little girl was asking for it..."

"She did nothing to warrant you striking her like that!" Rudy snapped at him, taking a step in front of Penny. "All she did was point out the truth! Are you really that upset that you..."

"Oh shut up, will you?!" The lead zoner growled. Some zoners behind him murmured and nodded their heads in agreement. "We are getting sick of this. Either you bring that miserable piece of chalk you call a friend to justice..." His voice took on a dangerous edge. "Or we will..."

The crowd agreed wholeheartedly.

"Yeah!"

"He needs to be locked away!"

"He's a monster!"

"Pure evil!"

"You can't arrest something based on no evidence!" Penny cried.

"Oh poppycock!" The lead zoner growled viciously. "We don't need to search for clues when we know for certain Snap was the one responsible! We all know the story, don't we?" He turned his head, addressing the crowd. "We all heard what the doctors said! Snap has no brain injury! He has been lying to his human companions! To everyone! We all know he is faking his injury so that we will take pity on him!"

"Yeah that's right!" A female zoner greed.

A somewhat elderly zoner growled under her breath. "Such a miserable little..."

"For shame!" Cried a male zoner.

"We saw his leg injuries!" Mint said through clenched teeth. "They weren't fake!"

"Oh yeah? Why don't you provide an explanation for us then, Enemy Creator!" The lead zoner said, folding his arms against his chest. "Try to tell us exactly how Snap isn't faking anything when his brain scan always turns up positive?"

Mint tried to reply, but he couldn't say anything. Rudy couldn't blame him. He himself couldn't think of a reply to that either. He didn't think it was enough to accuse Snap, though, and he could feel himself begin to lose patience.

"Aha! See?! You can't explain it, can you?" The lead zoner growled in an accusatory tone. "You can't do it because you know it's impossible! You know that Snap can't act like he has amnesia unless there is something wrong with his brain! And guess what?! There isn't!"

"We all know the story!" A young zoner said, his eyes narrowed into slits. "We were all informed!"

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He and his friends wondered if what they heard wasn't what the doctors had actually said, but rumors. He was already certain before that rumors had spread. This provided more evidence for that.

Rumors spread like wildfire, and they can be quite nasty. People take rumors like they were fact, and don't analyze them that well. These zoners had heard rumors of Snap being responsible, and whatever else negative about him, and they were agreeing with all of it. They weren't going to bother doing the research themselves. It was clear they had already made up their minds about this, and it was going to be hard to convince them otherwise.

Rudy had to figure out something. He doubted he could come up with anything right now to make them stop hating Snap. No, they'll only do that once he proves that Snap was innocent. There was only one way to do that: find out the real culprit.

"Look, we're just as baffled by the lack of an injury in Snap's head as you are." Penny's voice was on edge, somewhat defensive. After the way the lead zoner attacked her like that, he couldn't blame her. "But that doesn't mean that he is responsible. It's still not compelling enough proof to convinct him. The police aren't going to arrest Snap just because you say you think he is responsible."

"Oh we don't think." One of the zoners jeered at her. "We know."

Penny growled at this. "With no evidence..."

The same zoner snarled back. "Now see here, you stupid little girl..." He pointed his thumb against his chest. "I had been in that hospital, and we spoke to the doctors ourselves. Some of them believe Snap is faking it, and each test always comes up negative! How do you explain that, missy?!"

Penny's eyes widened and she took a small step backwards. She stammered over her words before she soon found her tongue. "I know what it might seem like..." She soon narrowed her eyes, clutching her hands tightly into trembling fists at her sides. "But that doesn't mean anything! Something is wrong with our friend and we will find out what it is!"

Mint joined in. "We guarantee you that the reason for his behavior is not related to him pulling off some elaborate scheme to kill zoners for...whatever reason you think he might be doing it." He made a gesture towards the crowd of zoners as he said this.

"We don't know why he's doing it either." Another zoner, this one female, said. "We just know that he is doing it, and that he needs to be stopped!"

"Yeah!" A beast-like zoner said, standing next to her. His voice was pretty deep. "Before he goes and hurts someone else! Enough zoners had suffered due to his barbaric actions!"

"That monster will pay for what he has done!" The lead zoner cried. He formed a fist with his hand, raising it into the air. "If we have to, we will tear that wretched traitor apart ourselves!" He turned to the crowd. "Who's with me?!"

There was a roar of approval from the crowd. Shouts and cries erupted from them, calling for the defeat of Snap, calling for justice, calling for blood.

Rudy and his friends stared at this display in shock. They found it hard to believe that these zoners were willing to go this far, that they were actually willing to hurt their friend based off of nothing but a hunch and hurt feelings. They looked at each other, exchanging horrified glances. They didn't think it would get this far. They never thought that they would have to deal with zoners like this during a time of crisis.

But now here they were. These zoners couldn't be reasoned with as they were. They were not going to listen to them. They were just going to spew out venom like this until Snap was arrestede. And even then, they would probably still harrass their friend, continuing to blame him for something he did not do.

The behavior they were displaying was positively ugly, terrifying. It boiled their blood, and they could feel their bodies shaking as emotion swept through them. It took a lot of mental power to keep themselves from moving from where they stood. They knew they had to keep themselves from making things worse. But it was difficult holding back, and the more they listened to the crowd's horrible words, the worse they felt.

Unable to take it, Rudy stormed over towards the lead zoner. At this point, the lead zoner's arms were raised in the air as he enticed the crowd to speak louder. The zoner realized too late Rudy was there, and the boy seized him by his shoulders.

The lead zoner stiffened up, his eyes wide in shock as he felt Rudy's hands squeeze his shoulders firmly. He looked down at his shoulders, and then back at Rudy. He narrowed his eyes and began to struggle. Rudy tightened his grip, but made no move to actually hurt the zoner. He put his face close to his, and spoke in the darkest voice he had ever spoken in.

"Snap is as much of a victim in all of his as anyone else affected by the machine, and by the explosion. He has been through so much lately. He can't do anything to hurt anyone right now, nor would he ever think of doing such a thing. You should know that. You all should know that... And yet here you are, being unreasonable..."

"Unreasonable? Unreasonable?!" The lead zoner snapped at him. He pulled back his hand and punched Rudy in the jaw. "I'll tell you what's unreasonable!"

"Rudy! Are you okay?!" Penny cried as she and Mint rushed to Rudy.

Rudy nodded his head. As Mint and Penny helped stabilize him, keeping him from falling, he glared in the direction of the lead zoner. He panted heavily, anger flowing through each breath. He would of spoken up again, but the zoner was still speaking.

"My sister didn't deserve to die!" The lead zoner snapped. "She was so innocent, and she just got her brother back, too! And then that fucking Snap took her away from me! What did she do to deserve to die?!"

At this, Rudy's expression softened up a little. This zoner had lost a sibling to the flames? That would explain at least some of his sour attitude. But that did not excuse his atrocious behavior.

"I swear... I swear upon my name, Taima, that Snap will pay for what he did to Galena!" The lead zoner cried, tears flowing down his face. His body shook with emotion. "He...he won't get away with this..I will make sure he won't..." His body shook so hard that he fell down onto his knees. "Why, Galena? Why..?"

The trio watched this display with shock and sympathy. The zoners in the crowd moved in closer, looking at him sadly. Some put their hands on him, speaking to him gently, trying to cheer him up. They spoke words of comfort and reassurance to him, clearly hoping that he would settle down.

During this, Rudy and his friends remained quiet. The lead zoner, Taima, was clearly distraught over the loss of his sister. Given that knowledge, it did make sense that a lot of these zoners were family members or friends of the ones who had died in the explosion. Their anger was based off of personal feelings, and because of that, they weren't thinking very rationally. As much as they understood their anger now, they couldn't simply allow them to continue harrassing their friend like this.

Rudy thought of one way he could quell the crowd for the time being. He took a step forward, his eyes looking directly at Taima. The zoner looked up at him, his eyes red and puffy from crying. He wiped them away as he snarled at Rudy.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Rudy glared at him, but softened up his expression. "I am so sorry for what happened to your sister. Really, I am." He paused for a moment, biting his lip. "But this behavior of yours..it's not going to make things better. Do not soil the memory of your sister by acting this way. I don't think she would appreciate it if she saw you acting like this, now would she?"

Taima's eyes widened. Then he snarled viciously. "How dare you..."

Rudy raised up his hands. "Look I'm not trying to fight you. I and my friends only wish to help you all seek closure. But..." He held his hands out in gesture. "...but it can't be like this. We can't convict our own friend just because of what you say. If you really want us to arrest the culprit, you will have to let us do it our way."

Penny nodded her head affirmatively. "We promise, we will find out who did this, and as soon as we know, we will tell you."

"You will have your closure and your justice delivered." Mint said, taking position next to Rudy, as did Penny. "Whoever did this will not get away with it. You can rest assured that, sooner or later, the culprit will get found. And trust me..." He formed a fist, his eyes practically glowing with anger. "He will pay for what he has done."

Rudy smiled at his friends, happy to have their assitance. He then turned back to the crowd, spreading his hands outward. "We will keep looking for clues. We will keep looking for new information. We will keep investigating the crime until we found out who did it. Even if it takes us to our dying breath, we promise we will find the culprit and capture them. You have nothing to worry about."

The crowd looked at each other, and then back at the children. They glared at them for a while, and the tension in the area seemed to almost rise. Rudy gritted his teeth, wondering if he and his friends would have to try harder to convince them.

Slowly, one by one, the zoners' expressions softened up a little. They got into more neutral stances, and looked relatively calm. They still glared at them, their expressions silently telling them that they were going to hold them at their word. But no one attempted to argue back. None of them tried to convince them otherwise. No one appeared to protest.

Then, after a while of what felt like the most awkward and tense staring contest ever, the zoners began to back away. They began to dissipate, turning around and leaving, going off in different directions. As they left, they still had some things to say.

"Well okay..." A male zoner said. "But I'm not lowering my guard."

A female zoner said, "We hope you know what you are doing."

"We know Snap is guilty, but if you think you can find the culprit, then okay." A young zoner commented. "We'll give you a chance."

"But as soon as we find out Snap really is responsible..."

"...no more roses and petals."

The trio winced at these comments. The zoners were clearly leaving begrudgingly, unwillingly. They still wanted to tear their friend apart, even if emotionally rather than physically. They weren't fully satisfied with their offer, but only accepted it because there wasn't much else they could do.

Soon all of the zoners had left. Well except for one. Laima. The lead zoner remained where he was. He looked left and right, as if realizing that he was all alone now. He knew he couldn't do much, yet he remained there, his stance still hostile, still threatening.

Laima's face contorted, part of his teeth exposed in the half smirk he gave. "Okay, I'll play your little game. I'll let you try to prove your friend's innocense." He took a step forward, his teeth bared like a wild animal. "I know that, by the end of it all, you will realize that you were wrong and I was right. Then you will be begging for my forgiveness, which I am not going to give..." He pointed at them and hissed, "...because you don't deserve it."

Rudy and his friends narrowed their eyes. They remained silent, knowing that they would gain nothing from trying to argue with this zoner.

Laima smiled almost evilly at them before he turned his back to them. He waved a dismissive hand at them. "Well see you around, humans. I wish you the...best of luck in proving Snap's innocence." He turned his head, looking over his shoulder. "You are going to need it." He jeered before he walked off down the street.

Rudy, Mint, and Penny simply glared at Laima as the zoner retreated down the street. They remained there, staring in that direction until the zoner disappeared. Then their expressions softened up and they looked at each other worriedly.

Things had just gotten more intense. They knew that, from this point on, things were going to be rougher. They would still continue their investigation. They would continue doing what they could to find the culprit and bring them to justice. But now they had something else to worry about. Now they had to make sure that no zoner came here to hurt Snap. The fact that some of the doctors apparently think he is guilty didn't help ease their minds, and they all felt something drop in their stomach as they realized the implications of this.

They hoped Snap was doing all right. Poor guy... He didn't deserve this. They had no doubts in their minds that the culprit was doing all this on purpose. They were the ones who were framing him, making the other zoners think he was responsible. The thought filled them with burning fire. Whoever did this, they would not get away with it.

But for now, they wanted to see Snap. They want to make sure he was okay, that no one had attempted to harm him. They had no idea if any of those zoners had gotten in and...

Exchanging looks of horror, their hearts racing as they realized what might have been going on, the three humans rushed into the hospital immediately.

sss

Rudy was not prepared for the heartbreaking scene he and his friends would come to witness as they entered Snap's room. They had hurried along, moving as fast as they could. They rushed passed the receptionist, hardly paying attention to her surprised words, as they made their way towards Snap's room.

When they got there, and opened the doors, they froze at what they had seen. They couldn't have predicted it was going to be like this.

Snap was curled up on his bed. Whatever physical pain he must be feeling was completely ignored. His body was shaking almost violently, loud whimpers escaping his throat. His wide, terrified eyes stared towards the window near his bed. Mosaic was laying down next to him, gently nudging him with her long snout. Snap hardly seemed to notice.

"S-Snap..?" Rudy managed to say, his voice soft and shaky.

Snap turned his head, and Rudy felt his heart clench when he saw his friend's expression. There was so much fear and terror...more than he had ever seen in his friend's face before. Snap looked absolutely heartbroken, and his body wouldn't stop shaking. His face was reddened with tears, and they could all see more tears streaming down his face. It looked as if he had been crying for a while.

The zoner sniffled, wiping away mucous that drained from his nose. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was clear he was in no condition to do so yet. More whimpers came out of his mouth as he started to cry a little harder. He closed his eyes and turned his head away, his body shivering with intense emotion.

Horrified by their friend's state, the trio rushed forward towards the bed. They each took position by their friend and looked at him sympathetically. They began to whisper soft, comforting words to him, trying to get him to settle down.

"Shh...Snap, it's okay..." Penny said.

"Yeah, everything will be all right." Mint nodded, holding Snap's hand.

Rudy bit his lip, stroking the top of Snap's head gently. "Please calm down, Snap. Please...we don't want to see you like this."

"It's going to be okay." Mint squeezed Snap's hand gently. "Please...it'll be okay..."

Snap didn't reply. He just kept shaking and whimpering on the bed. He hardly moved, even knowing his friends were there. He remained on a fetal position, curled up. Mosaic seemed to sense something was wrong, and she gently nudged him again. But Snap didn't pay attention to her. He just cried, his whines filling the air with melancholy.

The scene was absolutely heart wrenching for the trio watch. Something had their friend so distraught, so broken. Snap was an emotional wreck right now. Even their precense didn't seem to be calming him down. Just what could have happened to him to make him this way? Their minds swam with disturbing thoughts as they imagined possibilities of what might have went on.

Had one of the doctors abused him emotionally? Did one of the doctors say something nasty to him?

Did one of the crowd zoners come in here and harrass him while they were busy outside?

Did the culprit come in here and taunt their friend about his condition?

Did something else happen?

Whatever happened, they would make sure it didn't occur again. They would do whatever it took to keep him safe from not just injuries, but mental attacks as well. He didn't deserve it. If someone messed with their friend, they will find them and make sure it didn't happen again.

Rudy, unable to stand seeing his friend like this for much longer, scooped up Snap into his arms. The others moved away a little, giving him room. He was very careful not to hit against Snap's injuried legs as he cradled his friend against him. Snap looked up at him, tears flowing heavily down his face.

"Snap...what happened...?" Rudy asked gently.

Snap's lower lip quivered. His teeth clenched tightly, his eyes becoming watery. Fresh tears moved down his cheeks, staining them even more. He let out a choked cry as he attempted to speak, and he pressed his head against Rudy's chest, sobbing loudly.

"Snap, please...we want to help you." Mint said, carefully placing his hand on Snap's quivering back. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong."

"Did someone hurt you, Snap?" Penny asked. At this, Snap shook his head. Relief shined in Penny's eyes, but they were still filled with concern. "Tell us what happened, Snap."

Rudy caressed the back of Snap's head gently. He could feel his shirt getting wet from Snap's tears. "You can tell us, Snap. We're your friends. We want to help you. Please..." Rudy pulled Snap closer, pressing his forehead against Snap. "Please tell us what's wrong. Please.."

Snap took in a few shaky breaths. Then Rudy and the others could hear his muffled voice give a reply. "I-I heard what they were saying out there...about m-me..."

Rudy's eyes widened at this and he pulled back away from Snap, staring down at him in shock. Penny and Mint also looked horrified.

Snap..had heard all of that? He heard the zoners shouting like that? He heard what those zoners thought of him? Oh poor Snap... No wonder he was like this. Those zoners had shook him up, and now the little guy was so frightened and scared... Rudy continued holding onto Snap, his eyes remaining wide as he thought of all the horrible things Snap must have heard.

Those zoners...even though they never got into this room, even though they never confronted Snap directly, they still managed to scare Snap, to put him into this terrible state of mind. Rudy could feel Snap shivering against him, and the more he felt it, the more angry he felt at the zoners for frightening him like this.

"Snap, don't listen to what they say." Mint moved in closer again, reaching out towards Snap, touching his shoulder. "They don't know what they're talking about."

"Don't let what they said get to you." Penny looked at them sadly. "They're just...frightened, that's all. Their judgment has been clouded and they are letting fear rule their thoughts."

"Don't worry. We'll find out who did this." Rudy promised his friend. "Whoever did this, I promise they will not get away with it."

What Snap said next horrified them all.

"B-But..what if they're right...?" Snap sniffled loudly. He pulled his head back, looking up at Rudy with his tear-stained eyes. "What if I really am responsible...?"

"Snap...!" Rudy gasped in shock. "H-How could you think that?"

"W-Well..I know I wouldn't have d-d-done it on purpose, but..." Snap closed his eyes. He clenched his teeth tightly, fighting back sobs that got caught in his throat. "...but maybe I still did so-something.. Maybe there was something there and I goofed around a-a-and I caused something to blow up and..." He couldn't speak anymore as his voice faded back into cries.

Rudy exchanged worried glances with Penny and Mint. Poor Snap...after what he had heard, he started to have doubts about himself. He was starting to wonder if he really was responsible. Rudy knew this was ludicrous. Snap couldn't have been the cause, he was certain. But that didn't stop Snap from being so petrified at the idea of maybe being the one who inadvertantly killed all those zoners. Considering Snap's personality, it was clear to all of them how this was messing with his mind.

"Snap...it wasn't your fault, okay? Please don't cry." Rudy whispered softly. His voice cracked as emotion swept through him. "I know you better than that. I know it looks bad, but I promise...we will find out who did this, and we will prove your innocense."

"We believe in you, Snap." Said Penny. "We know you aren't responsible."

"H-How can you be so sure?" Snap whimpered. He turned his head so he could stare over at where Penny was. "It all...it all makes sense.. It would e-explain why the explosion didn't happen until much later on... It would explain why I-I only have burned legs while everyone else..." He clenched his teeth tightly, closed his eyes, and lowered his head.

Penny looked at him sadly. She reached forward, gently cupping his cheek. "Snap, look at me." Snap sniffled, but he did what Penny asked of him. "If you were responsible, we would have found something. But we know you too well to know it wasn't your fault."

Snap didn't seem convinced. "I nearly destroyed ChalkZone with a vacuum cleaner!"

"I know, Snap. You made your fair share of mistakes. We all have." Penny gestured to herself, Mint, and Rudy. "You learn from your mistakes, just like we do. You know better now what to do and what not to do, Snap. We know you wouldn't have been foolish enough to do something that would have endangered the other zoners."

"B-But if it was b-by mistake..." Snap whined.

"Snap, please...stop this. You aren't doing yourself any favors by blaming yourself." Mint said, interjecting. "You are the nicest zoner that I know, and one of the most cautious. I know you feel like you were responsible, but please, settle down. You shouldn't allow what those zoners said about you get to you." He reached forward and placed his hand against Snap's shoulder. The zoner looked up at him, quivering. "The chances of you being the one responsible is so remote that... well I understand why you might feel that you are, please don't waste your time blaming yourself. Nothing will get done feeling sorry for yourself. Believe me, I should know this."

Rudy nodded his head to Mint. He recalled how the kid had taken a while before he could work up the courage to apologize. It was true; Mint would know fully well just how useless feeling sorry for oneself truly was.

Rudy turned his attention to Snap. "We promise we will find a way to clear your name. You have nothing to worry about." He hugged Snap tighter. "You'll see. Sooner or later, we will prove your innocense, capture the real criminal, and everything will go back to the way it used to be."

Snap still cried softly, but he appeared to be calming down. His shivering slowly stopped, and his crying became much quieter. He leaned against Rudy, cuddling close to him. Penny and Mint joined in, wrapping their arms around the two, enclosing them in a group hug.

Rudy stared sadly down at Snap. Although his friend in a more tranquil state of mind now, he didn't know how long this was going to last. Snap had been so shaken up that if those zoners were to try coming again... Rudy wasn't sure if he could help his friend as easily next time. Snap might be deeper in that terrified state, becoming unaware of what was going on around him.

Rudy felt so bad for Snap. It must be horrible being blamed for something he didn't do. Snap wasn't the one who killed those zoners. And yet, nasty rumors were spreading about him all across ChalkZone. He wondered if any of the rumors would partain to him and his two human friends. Would zoners begin to turn against them as well?

Rudy decided it was best not to worry too much about that. They would deal with it when the time comes. Right now, their friend needed their help and comfort. He and his friends huddled close to Snap, Mosaic joining in as well. They remained close, comforting Snap by being close to him.

"Th-Thank you..." Snap whispered softly as he let out a sigh of contentment. All sign of crying had stopped.

Rudy smiled at his friend. "You're welcome, Snap."


	12. Investigation WIth No Results

I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter.

-In The End, Linkin Park

sss

Mint bit his lip, looking down at Snap. It had been about an hour since they had a run in with those nasty zoners. An hour since they found their friend a weeping mess. An hour since they tried what they could to cheer him up.

Presently, their friend rested on the bed, leaning against Rudy. His eyes were closed, but he knew that he was still awake. Snap had finally settled down. Still frightened, but at least he wasn't freaking out anymore. He was glad for that. It was too painful to watch him squirming around and crying, plus it would be much easier talking to him when he wasn't freaking out.

They all had been quiet for some time. No one could find anything to say. What could they say? Mint wanted to, but he feared that anything that would come out of his mouth would just make the situation worse.

But...they couldn't remain quiet forever. Someone had to start speaking up soon. There was one particular question that needed to be asked.

He feared the answer to it, however. Dread filled his heart at the mere thought of it. Yet..he knew it had to be done. The longer he held it off, the harder it would become to ask. It was an important question that would determine their next course of action.

"Snap..." Mint spoke up, cutting through the thick fog of silence that settled in the room. At his voice, Snap opened up one eye and looked up at him. Mint paused, staring at him with a cautious expression. "I..." He looked left and right. He licked his lips nervously as he tried to force himself to ask the dreaded question.

"What is it, Mint?" Snap asked. Mint winced, noting how scratchy his voice sounded. Likely a side effect from how long he had been crying.

"How...is your memory?" Mint managed to choke out. Snap's eyes widened at this. Mint flinched. "I'm sorry. But I..."

"No, don't apologze. I'm sure one of you would asked me that anyway." Snap lowered his gaze, taking in a deep breath. "I hate to report to you, but...no, my memory hasn't really improved at all."

Mint could feel ice shoot through his heart at this. He looked over at Penny and Rudy. He could see the looks of despair in their eyes, and he knew his own were shining with that trait as well. It was just as he had feared, what they were all afraid of. Still no improvement from Snap.

This was really concerning. Snap not being able to remember was going to complicate things. And the fact that, before, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with his brain..that sent chills up their spines. The idea of Snap having a mental problem that didn't correlate in the brain... It would certainly cause several zoners to become suspicious.

Which had already happened. Mint remembered just how large the crowd had been. All those zoners, each of them with the seeds of doubt inside of them, spreading across the city. All of them hating Snap, all practically demanding his blood...

And that had just been a taste. Who knows how far this had spread? If they don't find a way to prove Snap's innocense soon...

He feared the worst.

"I-I wish I could remember..." Snap said. Mint and the others looked at him sadly. "I wish I could think of what happened that day...but I just can't... I..." He stopped, trying to compose himself. He then looked back up at his friends, a smile forced onto his face. "I am glad that my memory of you guys wasn't affected."

This sent a wave of emotion through the three human children. They glanced nervously at each other, a bitter sensation of relief tugging at them. Snap had brought up a good point that they hadn't considered before.

They really had been lucky that the amnesia didn't take away what he remembered of them. If Snap forgot who Rudy, Penny, and Mint was, that would have been disasterous. They couldn't imagine what it would have been like, trying to explain to him who they were every time they came to visit. Would he have been terrified of him because they were human? Quite possibly, and that was just one of the several issues that could have occured.

But even though this amnesia was milder by comparison, it was still causing them problems. The culprit obviously didn't want Snap to remember that explosion. Perhaps Snap had seen who really did it? If they could just help him remember...

"We have to figure something out." Penny said, gritting her teeth. "I don't know how long those zoners will be willing to wait for us to find the culprit."

"Well hopefully they will remain calm for a while." Mint said, echoing her concern. He furrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't want to have take extreme action to..."

Rudy shook his head. Mint turned to face him. "That probably won't be necessary, Mint. The zoners listen to me...usually. If I say I'll do something, they believe me."

Mint stared at him. "So you are certain they will keep back for a while?" Rudy nodded. "Long enough...however long it'll take us to find the culprit?"

At this, Rudy's expression faltered slightly. Although he quickly corrected it, it didn't do much good for Mint. The look of doubt had already been shown, and it caused him to fill with worry. "It...will be tough." Rudy admitted. "But at least I bought us some time."

"Yeah..that's true..." Mint said.

Snap asked the question that was on all their minds. "But how are you going to set about proving my innocense...if you have no way to prove it?"

At this, Rudy's eyes widened and he flinched. "Yeah...I know that will definitely be hard. You can't remember anything, so you can't tell us anything we could use."

"That will certainly make this investigation a lot harder." Penny said. "We were already having a tough time before. We had hoped that you would start remembering something. But it's clear that you aren't. Whatever the culprit did to you at the party, it's working."

Everyone became quiet for a few moments. They allowed Penny's words to permeate in their heads and souls. She was absolutely right. The culprit had thought of a plan that was, sadly for them, was really affective. A way to keep Snap's memory in check without drawing attention from the doctors. Long lasting as well, as Snap still had no memories of what happened on that specific day.

A great strategy for the villain. A nightmare for them.

"We'll find a way...somehow..." Rudy said. He tried to sound as confident as he could, but it was clear, from his tone of voice, he wasn't sure how he was going to get his friend out of this situation.

Mint looked over at him sadly. Thoughts moved through his head at a rapid pace. He could feel a slight headache coming on. He did his best to control it, but he couldn't stop the slight pain from stretching across the top of his head, centering around his forehead.

The challenge of trying to prove Snap was innocent, without Snap's own testimony, was going to be one of their biggest challenges yet. Nothing he did in the past could compare with how hard this was going to be. Not even breaking into Skrawl's hideout in the desert could compare to this. At least then, he had something he could work off of. But in this case, he and the others weren't so lucky.

"I...think I have an idea." Penny spoke up.

"What is your idea, Penny?" Rudy asked, a tinge of hope on his voice. "Did you think of something that could prove Snap's innocense?"

Penny opened her mouth, then her face contorted slightly and she shook her head. Rudy's smile faded. "However..." Penny tried her best to sound sure of herself, just like Rudy had been earlier. "I think it is high time we go back to where it all began."

The others looked at each other. They had an idea of what Penny was talking about. And if it was true.. They weren't sure it was going to work. They looked back at her, awaiting her confirmation.

"We pay a visit to the Shrapnel Tower."

Their eyes widened at this. Mint looked at Penny like she had gone crazy. The Shrapnel Tower? Mint had his doubts it was going to do them any good. Judging from Rudy and Snap's expressions, he could tell they were doubtful as well.

But the expression on Penny's face remained the same. "I am serious, you guys. We should go there and do some searching ourselves."

"But Penny..." Mint spoke up. He bit his lip as Penny turned her attention towards him. "You know what the police had said. That place is off limits. Not just to zoners, but to us as well." He placed his hand against himself to emphasize this point.

"Yeah and besides that..." It was Rudy's turn to speak this time. "The police had already searched that place from top to bottom. They didn't find anything of interest. Not even the source of the explosions. What caused them, I mean."

"I know it might seem hopeless. But we should at least try. What do we have to lose?" Penny raised her hands at her sides. There was a look of determination in her eyes. "Need I remind you that we have nothing to go off of right now. Nowhere to go. That tower is the only place that we know is tied to the crime, because that's where it happened." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "When it comes to finding out what happened, all places and angles must be considered. If we want to find out what happened to Snap, we must visit that tower."

Mint exchanged uncertain glances with the others. They weren't sure if this was going to work or not. There were so many things to consider. What if they got caught? What if the zoners thought they were going to do something and report them? What if they end up captured by whoever was responsible? What if the building collapses on them? These and other horrific images entered his mind, not wanting to leave him alone.

"Penny, I..." Mint started to say. He stopped, clenching his teeth together. He wasn't sure what he was going to say. He didn't have a strong argument either way. He had nothing to suggest they do instead, and he couldn't think of anything to dissuade Penny from going to the tower.

Penny noted his hesitation. "We don't have much of a choice, Mint. That tower might hold clues to what happened."

"B-But you heard what the police said." Mint finally found his voice. "They didn't find anything!"

"Yeah. I don't think you guys are going to find much there." Snap pointed out.

Penny narrowed her eyes. "True..." She nodded her head once. "But you also saw how they were acting before."

Mint fell silent, as did Snap, and Rudy, who was going to speak, shut his mouth. They stared at Penny as she shut her eyes and lowered her head. They could all tell she was really thinking hard on this.

"They lied to us about the signal, remember? Even when we already knew, they still lied. They were willing to blatantly fib right in front of us, as if we were fucking stupid!" Penny seethed, emotion dripping off each word. "How can we possibly trust them when they were so willing to try to trick us despite knowing the truth?!"

As Penny took a few pants, trying to calm herself down, Mint took this moment to think about what she had said. Penny made a very good point there. The police did lie about the signal. They did try to make them believe that the signal did not exist before. And they weren't even being very subtle about it. The officers really did think they could get away with lying right in front of them, despite them knowing otherwise.

He could see why she would be so doubtful about what the police said about the investigation in the tower. Maybe she was right. Maybe they were lying about that. Mint's eyes narrowed as he thought of the possibilities.

He recalled how they all began to think that the police was being motivated by the signal, by the criminal responsible. If that were the case, then willing or not, this meant that they could not rely on the police system here. Any one of the officers could potentially be corrupt. They could be hiding evidence regarding Shrapnel Tower so that no one would try to properly investigate it.

He knew what they were going to do now.

"Okay, Penny. You've convinced us." Rudy said. "Sometime later today, we will go to the tower...if we can even get in."

"Do you think you guys can get there without running into those creepazoids?" Snap asked. At this, Mosaic's head raised up. Snap smiled at her and patted her on the head before looking back at his friends. As Mosaic settled down, as Snap pressed himself against Rudy, he said, "It's going to be hard getting past them without raising suspicion from other zoners."

"Yeah, I know, Snap. But...Penny's right." Rudy glanced out the window, staring out into the city. "Shrapnel Tower is our least beacon of hope. It's the only lead we have. We'll have to find a way to sneak in there."

"Do you think we can do it without raising alarm in the zoners?" Mint interjected. He raised a finger up as he spoke. "You know what will happen if the zoners spot us poking around where we shouldn't be." He stared at his friends, watching their expressions. "You know they will start getting suspicious of us, and begin to spread rumors."

But Rudy didn't appear to be worried. Shaking his head, he said, "I don't think that'll happen, Mint. They would know we are just investigating. And if they ask, we'll tell them."

Mint stared at him. Uncertainty was still plastered on his face. But Mint did not want to carry this converstation on longer than it needed to be. "Okay...if you say so." He paused for a moment. "So what's our first move?"

"We need to speak to Dr. Crobat first." Rudy said. "We need to know if he had found anything on the second scan."

Mint nodded his head at this. He had almost forgotten about that. The doctors had decided to perform another scan to see if they could find anything wrong with Snap's brain. They had yet to recieve the results.

"And after that, regardless of his answer..." Rudy's narrowed eyes looked at his friends, as if to make sure he had their attention. "..we will make our move to Shrapnel Tower. We'll dig our way in, and search for what we can. We'll look for anything that could be evidence."

The decision was made. No one had to speak. Just a mere nod of the head confirmed that they all understood and agreed with the plan. Mint hoped, they all hoped, that they would find something that could help them prove Snap's innocense. If the tower held no secrets...

Where could they turn after this?

sss

After they spent some more time with Snap, assuring him that they would do what they could to help him, the three friends headed down the corridor to look for Dr. Crobat. They had been told by a passing doctor that he was in his office, and he had been nice enough to give them directions.

They had to go down to the main floor, which took a while with the stairs; the elevators were currently pretty busy. But they did not complain. Right now, they had something more important to worry about that some elevator not working for them.

It didn't take them that long to locate the office. It was among a string of different offices, each one for a different doctor. Rudy couldn't tell if this was for all of the doctors, or just the most important ones. He didn't spend a lot of time thinking about that, though, and he focused on locating Dr. Crobat's. It shouldn't be too far away. The other doctor did say it should be in this hallway.

Soon he could see it. On the left side, the sign stuck out like a sore thumb, and he could see Dr. Crobat's name on it. He stopped and stared at it. He looked over his shoulder, at Mint and Penny. He gave them a nod as they narrowed their eyes. They continued forward, staring intently at the door. They soon reached it, and Rudy quickly knocked on it.

"Who is there?" Dr. Crobat's voice could be heard on the other side.

"It's us." Rudy called out to him, raising his voice so the doctor zoner could hear him through the wood. "We want to talk to you."

Rudy could hear clanging in the door as the doctor zoner unlocked it. The long handle bent downwards, and he took a step back. The door opened up, and the bird zoner stood in the doorway. He looked at each of them, a slight frown on his face.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Dr. Crobat asked.

"It's about Snap." Rudy said.

"Oh...yeah I had a feeling it was going to be that." Dr. Crobat gritted his beak, looking in a couple of directions as if unsure of what to say. The look on his face did little to comfort any of them. "I suppose you want to know how the scan results came out?"

Mint nodded. "Yes." At the bird's frown, Mint narrowed his eyes slightly. He lifted up a finger and pointed in the bird's direction. "I...take it you didn't find anything?"

"I'm sorry.. No." Dr. Crobat said. He looked at them sadly. It was clear that, if he could, he would give them good news. But he could not do that. And he didn't try to do that. He straightened himself up, sucking in a deep breath as he prepared to talk to them. "The scan was still the same. Nothing abnormal about your friend's brain activity."

At this, the three friends looked at each other. Although they had somewhat expected this, it was still a shock to recieve this news. The blow was hardly any different when they first had been told about the earlier brain scan. The intense emotion moved along their bodies, each of them still looking at one another, trying to comprehend this terrible news.

If Snap didn't have anything wrong with this head...wouldn't this began to make the zoners doubt him more? They were all going to think he was insane, or just plain lying to them. They all got a taste of it already. Many zoners were already doubting him. They knew that the scan results were negative. They knew the doctors could not find anything that could cause Snap's amnesia. The zoners were going to jump to conclusions and think he was faking his condition in order to escape justice.

Rudy knew that, since the scan was, once again, negative, their only shot now was Shrapnel Tower. Despite his confidence before, he had no idea if they were going to find anything there. He couldn't be certain if anything they find was going to help them. Or if there was even going to be a place to look. Still, it was their last shot at trying to get the zoners to ease off of Snap.

"Okay...thank you." Rudy said. He took another step back. "That's all we wanted."

Dr. Crobat looked at him sadly. "I do apologize I couldn't bring you better news."

"That's okay." Penny said. "It is better that you told us the truth, even if it wasn't that great." She paused for a moment, biting her lip. She then looked at the doctor zoner, her eyes widening a little. "Do...the other zoners know about this..."

Dr. Crobat furrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't doubt it. I'm sure someone here spread the news." He looked left and right, as if he wanted to make sure no one was looking. He then leaned towards the three children. "Some of the doctors here even doubt Snap's story."

"That's what we heard." Rudy could feel his stomach burn in disgust. "There was a crowd of zoners outside, and they mentioned it and..."

"A crowd of zoners?" Dr. Crobat tilted his head in confusion. "Why were they here?"

"They were demanding that Snap get arrested." Penny answered him. "They apparently blame Snap for the explosion."

Mint chimed in. "But they're gone now. You don't have to worry about them."

Dr. Crobat narrowed his eyes again. A concerned expression made its way onto his facial features. "That's good...but.." He shook his head. "I don't think they will stop. They will likely come back, sooner or later, and harrass your friend." He looked at each of the children. He had an empathic look on his face. A glint of worry was shining strongly in his eyes. "I fear that they might try more vicious tactics. Frightened and angered zoners cannot be reasoned with." He paused. "They might be gone for now, but do not take comfort in this. They will be back. Rest assured."

Dr. Crobat's words sunk in to their hearts. Rudy tried to fight against the horrible sting that spread throughout his chest. He had thought that his words would have bought more time, but now Dr. Crobat made him doubt that.

What if the zoners really did come back and start harrassing their friend? The thought sent chills down his spine. He had no idea how far they were going to go. He didn't know what their limitation was going to be. He had no idea just what the zoners were going to do. Dr. Crobat was right. Them being angered and frightened was a dangerous combination. It was going to make them act irrationally.

And then the signal...

What if it came back...?

Urgency rose in his chest. He exchanged nervous glances with his friends. Suddenly their mission became even more crucial. They had to get to that tower and see if they can find anything to clear their friend's name, and fast. If they didn't do it before the zoners would come back...

Rudy gulped. He hoped that his friend was going to be all right. Even if the zoners could not get inside, he knew their voices would still reach him. He recalled how devastated his friend was when he came into the room. And for that to happen again, it was dreadful. Snap didn't deserve any of this. He deserved to be happy and free, not trapped in his own mind, unable to remember, tormented by zoners who once cared about him.

Knowing that Dr. Crobat didn't have anything else to add, and knowing how serious their situation was, Rudy bid farewell to Dr. Crobat. He and his friends started to make their way down the corridor.

Dr. Crobat stopped them. "Hold on!" He cried, holding up a wing hand. The three children stopped and looked over at him. "There is something I noticed that might be of interest to you."

"What is it?" Mint asked, his tone somewhat cautious.

"Do you think it could help us?" Asked Penny.

"It could...I dunno for certain." Dr. Crobat admitted. "I just remembered it now."

Rudy took a few steps in front of his friends. Like them, curiosity peaked him, but he was also being a bit cautious. He had no idea if what Dr. Crobat's next words were going to help, or if they were going to complicate the situation more. Yet, he knew he had to listen. He gave a simple nod, motioning his hand towards the bird and waiting for him to answer.

"Well, when I was giving Snap the scan, something did happen that I thought was...very strange." Dr. Crobat said, holding a hand out in gesture. "I never seen anything like it before."

Rudy's eyes widened. He looked quickly at Mint and Penny, who shared the same expressions of shock. Could this be it? Could this information give them some kind of clue of what was going on with their friend?

"What happened?" Rudy asked, doing his best to control his voice.

"What did you see?" Mint took a step forward, his eyes wide.

Penny spoke up. "Will it help us?"

"I'm not sure how much it'll help you. I'm not sure how well I can explain it. But I know you three are going to want to know this." Dr. Crobat said, interlocking his fingers together. "I'll do my best to explain."

The three children moved in closer. They wanted to hear everything this zoner was about to say. They wanted to hear, with clarity, what he had seen. This filled their hearts with anticipation. What the zoner was going to say next may very well provide the clues that they need to prove Snap's innocense.

"This is what happened..."

Dr. Crobat recounted the tale of what he had seen during the scan.

sss

"Wow, it looked like a tornado swept through this place..." Mint whispered softly, turning his head from side to side.

"That's because something did tear this place apart." Rudy said, his tone somewhat bitter. "I swear, when I find out who did this..."

"Please calm down." Penny's gentle voice came. "We can't afford to get upset right now. Let's just focus on trying to find something to help us."

The boys nodded in agreement, and, silent, they moved forward, each going in their own direction.

Penny had been in shock when they came upon what remained of the building. Even from the distance the yellow tape had been stretched, they could see, in horrific detail, the damage dealt to Shrapnel Tower. Now the place really did live up to its name.

It had been reduced to mostly rubble. The building materials had all crushed into small pieces, and they laid strewn about. The metal wireframe that held the place up was all bent and twisted, leaning at odd angles. They could see some small burn marks on the outside, and some smoke, even after all this time, was still coming out. Sure it wasn't as intense as it was in the beginning, but it was scary to think that the fire had been so hot that smoke was still being trailed behind.

Not all the building was destroyed. Some parts of it still stood. But it looked incredibly unstable, and Penny swore it was wobbling a little bit. She didn't know how long it was going to take before it would collapse under its own weight. She and her friends would keep a sharp eye and ear out for any signs of collapsing while they were searching.

They had been lucky there were no zoners when they came. In the beginning, there was always someone looking, staring, wondering what the heck had happened. For a while, there were a ton of police zoners as well, searching the place through the use of tunnels they built for safer navigation.

Though there was no one, they were still careful when they entered in. They went along a back way, hoping that no one would spot them. Penny didn't think the zoners would exactly start to blame them, but it was still a possibility. They were already on edge with Snap and whatever was going on with his mind. The zoners were in such a fragile state of mind that they would turn on them fairly quickly the moment they did anything suspicious. And sneaking into a condemned building like this would certainly count.

They used one of the back tunnels to get in. It was lit with small lights along the walls, making it easy for them to move through. They were grateful for that, as they wanted to conserve their chalk just in case they ran into something rather nasty down there. They didn't know who or what made the machines, and they had nothing to say that it wasn't some large, dangerous beast.

The entrance had a lot of dirt and metal all cobbled around it, making the edge a little sharp. Penny guessed that the police had worn some special suits to keep themselves from getting hurt. She and her friends did their best to climb in, jumping down the ground which was two feet below the hole. But they didn't escape unscatched and they each got small scratches. Thankfully, they were shallow and didn't bleed much.

They soon found themselves in what Penny guessed was the main room. They could see what looked to be stairs. The first fifteen steps looked intact, but then after that, it was all broken and shattered. Pieces of the stairs could be seen on the ground in large and small pieces. Up above, they could see some more remnants of the stairs sticking out of what remained of the shattered walls. There were also some loose wires hanging from large holes in the walls, a few sparks coming out of a couple of them.

They could see some blood stains, but they were so dark and black it was hard to tell what they were at first. The smoke was heavy, so thick they could barely see anything. They had to draw protective masks so they could breathe and navigate without keeling over.

There was a powerful smell hanging in the room as well. Its stench permeated and even seeped into their helmets, making it impossible for them to escape it. The smell was that of burning flesh. They knew they were smelling the dead, and this realization made them shudder, cold chills going up and down their spines.

But they weren't going to turn away. They had a job to do. Pushing aside their disgust of the smell, they focused on the task at hand.

Now that they were in and now that they were all going their separate ways, Penny moved down one of the corridors, located on her right. The door was still there, but it had been bent in the middle and twisted, almost like a failed origami piece. Getting rid of it wasn't too difficult. She reached over, grabbed it, and yanked on it hard. A single pull with enough strength was enough to knock it from its hinges. She dropped it and moved inside.

Penny coughed as she entered the smoke filled hallway. She wondered if this was the source of the blast. It was hard to tell. She recalled that some of the policemen, if they were being honest, believed that the blast was caused by multiple explosives being set off at once. If this was the source of one of them, if she explored this area more, maybe she could identify what was used.

She looked left and right, taking in the horrible sight of twisted rock and mangled metal. Some bits of sunlight shined through, but it was barely enough to illuminate the hallway. She could hear rocks cracking, rolling, clanging on the ground.

Suddenly there was a loud crack and Penny let out a scream. She jumped back as a large slab of marble dropped down in front of her, barely missing her. She shivered, her body frozen in shock. She managed to relax herself, and she moved in closer, examining it. She slowly looked up and she could see a part of a higher level where the slab came from. Being careful, she stepped over it, and then continued down the corridor.

She had to stop a couple of times as large rocks and marble and even some gnarled metal fell down. She was amazed that the building hadn't fallen down yet. She did her best to control her speeding heart as she navigated through the mess on the ground, raising her legs up, taking care to avoid whatever jetted out of the ground.

So far, Penny couldn't see anything of interest. Nothing that would help her or her friends find out what had happened. She continued along, looking left and right. She could see an occasional body part of a victim that was blown into pieces. She shuddered, and had to tear her eyes away each time. The small was getting to her, filling her with dread. Still, she had to keep moving.

But it was hard to ignore the body parts that she would see, or bits of organs that were burned into hard, black substances. The only way she could recognize what came from a zoner, blood or bone or anything else, was due to her experiences working with her mother. This was one of those times where she was both grateful and horrified to have this kind of knowlege. Not wanting to desicrate the dead, she made sure she stepped over any and all remains, taking care not to kick any of them away.

She soon became frustrated and disappointed that she was coming up empty so far. She listened intently for Rudy or Mint to speak up on the small radios they implanted on their helmets. They had agreed to talk to each other when they found something.

But so far, nothing. Just silence. They hadn't found anything either. She narrowed her eyes with concern. She hoped they weren't going to turn up empty-handed. That would be horrible. They couldn't let Snap down.

Suddenly, she hit her leg against something hard. Her eyes widened as she felt herself falling forwards, her leg bending at an odd angle. She let out a cry of pain as she hit the ground heavily, her face smashing against the ground. She felt a sudden, sharp pain in her leg and she pulled it to herself as she laid on her side.

Her body quivered in pain. The intensity of the pain caused tears to form in her eyes, which were shut tightly. She bared her teeth, clenching them together as she tried to deal with the pain. After what felt like several minutes, she felt the pain start to subside a little. Only then did she loosen her grip a little and lift up her head so she could examine the damage.

She was relieved to see that her leg did not appear broken and there were no deep gashes in it. She placed herself on her bottom, using her hands as support, and tested her leg out. She winced as she felt some pain, but it seemed to be just a sprained ankle. She could see the dark bruise forming, and she winced at the sight of it. She quickly drew herself a cane for herself to use. She climbed up to her feet, leaning onto the cane so she coudl support herself. Once she was situated, she turned her head to look at what she had tripped over.

It was a metal pole. Well part of one anyway. It appeared to have been broken, and there was a sharp edge to it. She flinched, glad that she did not hit that part of it. She could see the indention where her foot had gotten caught, and she shuddered. She was about to continue her walk when she noticed something around the metal pole.

Penny hobbled over as she stared down at the substance. It was black, and seemed to have spread out in all directions. She quickly realized what it was, given away by the smoke radiating from it. This was one of the explosive locations.

At first, she was confused. If this was where one of the explosives went off, then why was all this stuff still around? Shouldn't it be in a more clear, open area? Then she corrected herself, feeling stupid. Of course there would still be debris here. Just like in the Real World, the explosion destabilized much of the building, and it collapsed down. Pushing her stupid thought aside, she carefully knelt down, using the cane as support.

She reached down with her finger and spread it across the dark stuff. It felt soft and sooty. She lifted it up and rubbed it between her fingers as she felt the consistancy. She realized something about this explosion mark and the way it felt between her fingers seemed so familiar. Where had she seen this before?

She then remembered. Not too long ago, before all of this had began, she went with her mom to a fireworks shoot off. One of the fireworks had went off too early, and left a large burn mark on the ground, as well as several flames. It was put out quickly, but it remained there long enough for her to remember it quite well.

This mark was a perfect match for that. And the smell...the horrible smell that they had been detecting the entire time they were here.. It wasn't just the smell of gore and blood. She was also detecting the scent of fireworks.

Her eyes widened in realization. The explosion was caused by fireworks...

But unfortunately, that wasn't going to tell her much. Her heart sank at this. A lot of zoners loved fireworks. Any one of them could have used them. And what fireworks could cause white flames? Well this was ChalkZone, not the Real World, so the same physics didn't always apply. It still left her baffled. Perhaps they could ask around regarding fireworks. Maybe one of the zoners could have some idea on where white flame fireworks could come from.

"Hey Penny...?"

Penny nearly jumped at that voice. She quickly straightened herself out. Pressing a button so Rudy could hear her, she replied, "Yeah, Rudy?"

"Are you okay? I heard you scream?" Rudy asked.

"Yeah. It sounded like you got shot." This time, it was Mint speaking.

"Oh I'm fine guys, really." Penny said. She guessed Mint and Rudy had their own problems and that was why they didn't answer right away."I just tripped over something. My ankle is sprained, but it should be fine."

"Do you need any help?" Mint asked.

Penny shook her head. Realizing her friends could not see the shake, she said, "No, I'm good. I'm heading back into the main room."

"Did you find anything?" Rudy sounded a bit annoyed. Not with her, but with the search. "Mint and I couldn't really find anything of interest. We found remains of zoners, and some small burn marks, but nothing conclusive."

Mint said, "How about you?"

"Well I did find something out." Penny said. "But I don't think it's going to help us that much."

"What did you find out?" Rudy asked, curiosity shining on his voice.

"I.."

Penny's voice trailed off as she heard loud cracking and snapping everywhere. Her heart raced, skipping a beat. She realized what was happening.

This part of the building was starting to collapse...

Penny let out a scream as she heard the sound of large chunks of marble and some of rock falling further down the tunnel. It was a domino effect and it was coming straight for her. She immediately began to run, moving as fast as she could with her cane, trying to get away from the falling debris behind her.

"Penny? Penny! What's going on?!" Rudy's concerned voice came.

"Penny, what's happening?" Cried Mint, terror dripping off the edge of his voice.

She did not answer her friends. She just kept on running, her heart pounding heavily against her chest. Her eyes were wide in terror as she moved quickly. Her ankle hurt tremendously, her arm ached as she used the cane quicker than it was made for. Navigating around the debris and remains of the bodies was quite difficult.

Behind her, she could hear the slabs falling down left and right, catching up to her fast. She dared not look back. She dared not turn her head and see just how close she was to getting crushed. She had to keep moving. She...

Suddenly her cane snagged on one of the sharp pieces of debris sticking out of the ground. She screamed as she landed face first. She let out a yelp as a shard of metal slashed her across her face. She grabbed onto it, feeling the blood seep through her fingers. Her body shaking, whimpers escaping her mouth, she turned her head behind her.

The collapsing was getting closer. She widened her eyes in horror and struggled to get up. But without her cane, which was knocked away from her, she could go nowhere. She fell back down, hitting her chin against the hard floor.

Penny laid there, quivering in fear and pain. She took one last look behind her and she shut her eyes, covering her head. She waited for the final blows to come.

Suddenly she felt pairs of hands grab onto her. She snapped her eyes open and looked up. She could see the familiar forms of Mint and Rudy standing over her, horrified and determined expressions on their faces. They helped her up to her feet and began to guide her out of the building.

They climbed through the back tunnel they had used to get in. They got in just in time. As soon as Penny's damaged leg had gone in, the building collapsed. The three friends coughed as dust was kicked out their way, hitting against their helmet-covered faces.

They stared at the pieces of metal and marble that now covered the opening, blocking their way in. They looked at each other, taking in several deep breaths, their hearts racing. They couldn't believe just how close they came to being crushed to death. It took a while for their bodies to stop shaking, for the shock to leave their system. Even as they crawled out, they couldn't stop the trembling of their bodies.

It took several minutes for the shere shock of the situation to melt away from their bodies, and they crawled away from the now covered opening. They looked at each other, horror still etched in their shrunk pupils.

Rudy licked his lips nervously, and when he finally had the courage to speak, he said, "So...what did you find out?"

sss

Rudy felt a strong sense of disappointment permeate through his chest, his teeth gritted. He should have gotten used to disappointment, but it still stung him horribly. His friends didn't look much better. They all looked pretty depressed. Today wasn't as eventful as they hoped it would be.

"I still can't believe nothing was on those monitors..." Mint grumbled under his breath.

Penny corrected him. "Well, there were some things. That single street camera did catch some zoners going on."

"Yeah but all of them were victims that had been killed by the explosion." Mint growled. "In other words, party goers. The ones that had been tricked by whoever was responsible."

Penny sighed softly. "Yeah, and it did show our friend going on. What scared me is how the explosion happened not too long after Snap went in."

"It was still a considerable amount of time," Rudy pointed out. "But yeah. And he was the last one in there..."

This implication was quite strong. Rudy could feel his chest burn as he realized just how the zoners were so convinced. It seem pretty coincidental that the explosion happened after Snap went in, and how no one else entered after him. The last one was Snap, and then the explosion happened. If one were to think too hard, they'd come to think that perhaps Snap had set off the explosion himself, and that it was done deliberately...

But despite what the evidence was showing them, he refused to believe his friend was responsible. There was no way Snap would do something like this. It just...wasn't like him. Snap did not like hurting others. He would not do anything to purposely endanger anyone.

Even him doing it by mistake seemed unlikely. After he and his friends examined the building, they were able to determine that it had been done on purpose. This theory became stronger when Penny told them about the firework marks. No one would leave lit fireworks around, and they have to be deliberately lit in order to go off, didn't they? Snap wouldn't be stupid enough to somehow accidentally light up a firework, let alone the multiple ones they discovered in the building before it collapsed more.

"I know what it might seem...But I know Snap didn't do this." Rudy said, eyes narrowed. "He would never do such a thing."

"We know, Rudy." Mint said, agreeing with him. He looked towards the ground as they continued walking along the grassy field. "I just wish that we found something. If the zoners see that footage, they are going to think he really did do something." He held up his hand in gesture. "Why didn't we take the footage? We..."

Penny shot him a glare. "If someone saw us, they would have thought we were tampering with the evidence."

Mint looked down at this. "Yeah... Sorry."

It was starting to seem hopeless. As much as Rudy wanted to be more confident, more certain, there were some seeds of doubt being planted in his head. Not that he would ever think Snap would hurt another zoner, but he was starting to wonder if he could ever prove his innocense.

He and his friends found nothing at the debris sight that could help them prove that Snap was innocent. There were no marks, no pieces of anything that would show Snap wasn't responsible. And anything they did find, it only pointed them back towards Snap. The culprit behind this all...they had been doing a really good job with keeping them off their trail. This villain was clever, but Rudy knew, sooner or later, they would get caught.

"Do you think your idea will work, Penny?" Mint asked, breaking the silence. He sounded uncertain. "I mean, the doctors already scanned his brain and..."

"Yeah, I know. But they had been only scanning areas of his brain associated with memory. That's the confession Dr. Crobat gave when he told us about what he had noticed." Penny said. "If they did a full scan, they might actually find something. I mean, it's a long shot, sure, but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try."

"I still can't believe they only scanned part of his brain. I wish they had told us that earlier." Mint grumbled softly. He sighed, and said, "Well, then again, they probably were trying to think rationally and felt it was a waste of time scanning all of the brain."

"Yeah. But at least now they are going to scan the whole thing. Maybe they'll actually find something." Rudy said hopefully.

It was difficult to say what would happen. Rudy wasn't sure if they would find anything or not, and if they did, if whatever it was happened to be located in a different part of the brain not associated with memory control, then how...

He tried not to think about it. He would have plenty of time to think about it more when the doctors decide to give him a more complete MRI scan. He was still shocked that, somehow, they were able to scan only certain areas of his brain, and even more shocked they didn't think of doing the whole brain before. But at least they were going to do it soon.

He hoped they would find something. He recalled what Dr. Crobat had said. He mentioned, during the scan, there was a blip on the machine. It was quick and he nearly missed it. It was located in the area responsible for memory, the only spot they were really looking in.

That blip might be the key to whatever was wrong with Snap. Rudy and the others were shocked with how it appeared, then disappeared. It was too fast for the MRI scan to record it affectively, so they were unable to look at it more detail and figure out what it was. Rudy and the others, as well as Dr. Crobat, hoped that a more thorough scan would tell them more of what was going on.

He hoped that it would. He and his friends hoped and prayed that the thorough scan would turn up with something, anything. Even if it didn't reveal the culprit, they all hoped that it would at least get the zoners off their friend's back.

"I wish we could have seen Snap again before we left." Mint said. "I'm sure he would like to listen to our discoveries."

"We have to be home before our parents realize we are gone." Rudy said, looking over at Mint. "We can come back later, when our parents are asleep, and pay a short visit to our friend before we have to hit the hay."

"Yeah I know. Still.." Mint folded his arms behind his head as he leaned back while he walked. "It would be nice to tell him what we found out now."

"He'll find out soon. Don't worry." Penny reassured him.

"Yeah. And sooner or later, we will find out the culprit." Rudy said, his eyes flashing with determination.

Although this statement was enough to bring some hope to Penny and Mint, they all had some doubt they'd find out who did it. The idea of the culprit getting away with murder ate away at their insides. But they knew there was nothing they could do except hope that things would turn out just fine.

sss

Almost done... Almost there... Just a little more and...

Perfect.

Sandra took a few steps back, dropping her tools to the ground. The clanging rung in her ears, hurting them, but she hardly paid attention to that as she admired what had come out of her hard work and dedication.

Her machine had been rebuilt. She looked at it up and down, folding her arms against her chest and she smirked, pride seeping through her body.

It looked just like the old one. A sort of large blender with sharp blades, a triangular antenna that was ready for use, and everything else. It was almost like it was never destroyed by Snap. The machine was all hooked up, and all it would take to run it was flip a single switch.

She hoped to begin using the machine soon. With Snap still in the hospital, she didn't have to worry about him coming to find this machine and destroying it. She had upgraded the machine some more to better cloak it. She knew the other zoners were on the look out for this device. She had to make sure that nothing happened to this new one. Her business counted on it.

It wouldn't be long before she would put this baby to good use. She would have to wait a little bit, but soon she would activate it, and this time, she was going to be more discrete about it. She wanted everyone to continue thinking this machine was utterly destroyed. This would allow her to keep using it however many times she wanted to, and not have to worry about some zoner coming down and trying to destroy it.

Sandra stood several feet away from her precious machine, a work of art made of metal and steal. She smiled softly, slowly licking her lips. One thought shot through her mind.

She couldn't wait for the lunch rush tomorrow.


	13. Guilt Trip

So why do you take this, conquer and dismay this peaceful sanity of mine...?

-The Eyes Of Tomorrow, Broken Iris

sss

Snap rested against Mosaic, who was curled up behind him on the bed. His eyes were faced towards the ceiling. He could feel his head moving up and down slightly each time Mosaic took in a breath. He was amazed at how tolerant she was being; this couldn't be a comfortable position for her.

Snap tried his best to relax. He tried to keep his mind calm, from getting too worked up. Things had been hectic lately, and he didn't want to get dragged down. He had to keep his mind calm so he wouldn't panic, because if he panicked, he wouldn't be able to think straight. If this is what that culprit had in mind for him...well he hated to disappoint them, but he was not going to fall for it.

He didn't want to constantly act so scared and frightened. He wanted to be braver than that. If he always broke down, then he was just going to allow the culprit to win.

Yet he knew there was nothing wrong with being afraid. Everyone feels like that sometimes. What mattered was how it was handled. If he constantly allowed it to get the better of him...well that wasn't going to be good for him later on. What if the culprit came in a moment of emotional weakness and struck him down before he had a chance to fight back?

Fighting back... Yeah, right. Snap knew he stood little chance of that while both of his legs were burned. They did heal up some more, but they were far from being useful. He was unable to walk, even after all this time. He had to go a few skin grafting surgeries, which were painful in their own right. But it had to be done, otherwise his legs would not recover all that well. He didn't want to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Is that what the culprit wanted? To trap him in a way that would drive him mad for the rest of his life? Trap him in a wheelchair and deprive him of something that he had taken for granted for so long? Is that his way of driving him insane?

Snap growled softly to himself. He could feel Mosaic lift up her head and looked down at him, her reptilian eyes boring through his. Snap stared at her with an upwards glance for a few seconds before he looked away. She rested her head back on the bed, letting out a deep sigh.

He was glad for the company. Mosaic might not be able to talk or convey words like his friends could, but still, he felt safe around her. Mosaic was almost always at his side diligantly, and it seemed as though she was with him not just because it was required, but because she felt compelled to be with him.

Snap reached back with his hand and stroked along Mosaic's head. He wished she could speak. He often wanted someone to speak to, but he was usually left alone. He was getting pretty lonely, and only Mosaic's presence could stave that off. Sure he enjoyed visits from his friends, but he knew they couldn't always be here. Mosaic was the only one who could remain by his side all the time; it wasn't like she was from the Real World and had to leave to avoid getting caught, or a doctor with a multitude of jobs to take care of.

His thoughts turned back to the culprit. The zoner whose identity was still not known, even after all the investigations that went on. The zoner that was trying to make his life a living hell...

He was not going to let the culprit get the best of him like this. He refused to allow him any sort of victory. He was going to remain strong. He was not going to allow himself to break down. He just couldn't...

Snap could feel emotion starting to well up inside of him. He could feel his body begin to shake and shiver, and it was difficult for him to stop. Even with Mosaic's presence here, even as she nuzzled him as a way of trying to calm him down, Snap found it difficult to settle himself. The weight of the situation was starting to come down in all directions.

He couldn't believe that someone would want to do this to him. He knew this was all deliberate. He knew that the culprit left him alive on purpose just to make him suffer. And all for what? For destroying their precious machine that they were using to hurt zoners? What was this guy's problem? How could they think that them hurting zoners was fine, but him destroying their machine was somehow a sin? Snap would never understand the mindset of people like that, human or zoner.

He recalled how Mint used to be quite crazy when he first came into ChalkZone. But he was being manipulated. Skrawl had used his ignorance of the place to send him to attack it. Mint had seen just how wrong he had been and turned against Skrawl.

Somehow, Snap doubted that they were going to be lucky this time around. It seemed really unlikely that this culprit was like Mint, and simply misguided. There had been no reports of new creators since Mint. Such a thing would not go unnoticed. Even if it were another creator being tricked, that didn't mean the creator themselves woudl be all that friendly. Snap didn't doubt there would exist himans who would deliberately harm ChalkZone, even if they knew that it was as real as, well, the Real World.

Snap tried to remain confident that the police would find something. That someone would locate anything referring to the real culprit. Snap wanted that criminal off the street before they managed to hurt anyone else. But with their luck lately, would that even be possible?

At least not everything was so bad. Snap couldn't wait for his friends to visit because he had some good news for them. It wasn't much, but it would certainly help lift their moods up.

His memory was getting better.

Well kind of. It was still rather weak, and he still could not remember what happened that fateful day. But it was a little stronger than before, and he was starting to retain some information. This development was quite new, and he hadn't yet told anyone about it. He wanted to tell his friends first; they were the first people he wanted to know about this.

He had woken up this morning retaining some memories of what happened the other day. Through this, he was able to recall that he was having memory issues because of an explosion he was caught in. He didn't remember everything, though, and he still required Mosaic's help as he did forget about his leg wounds. Still, this was a definite improvement and he couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when he told them.

He hoped that this would continue to improve. He wasn't sure if he would eventually regain all his memories. He believed that most of the memories of events that happened after he first woke up from the explosion were gone forever.

But the memory of the explosion... That might still be salvageable. If his brain continues to improve and recover from whatever had happened to it, then he may have a chance to at least recall the face of whoever did this to him, and he could go from there. Even if it won't make a positive identity, he might be able to use it to narrow down the suspects.

Just then, as Snap was beginning to close his eyes to think more about the situation, he heard something from outside. He opened up his eyes and sat up. He ignored Mosaic's confused expression as he looked towards the window. From where he was, he couldn't see much, but he could definitely hear something. Low at first, getting louder and louder...

Then, as the sound began to disperse into several unique sources, Snap realized what was going on. He bit his lip, his eyes bulging, as he realized what it was.

The crowd of zoners were back. And this time, they were more vicious than they were in the past.

"Snap is a monster! Kill him now!"

"He needs to die!"

"He has betrayed us all!"

"Arrest him or kill him!"

"Do both! Rip the bastard apart!"

"I want to see his guts spilled on the ground! He deserves it!"

"He murdered my sister in cold blood!" That voice...Taima... "Why isn't anyone arresting him?!"

"Yeah! Arrest the traitor!"

This and many more rather nasty comments spread throughout the air, hanging thickly, echoing in his head. Snap's eyes widened further as he continued listening to terrible comment after terrible comment.

He tried not to listen to them. He tried to block it out. He tried to tell himself that the zoners were just frightened, and that the real culprit would be found eventually. He wasn't the one responsible, and sooner or later, those zoners would come to realize that. The culprit was the one who did all of this. The culprit was the one who needed to pay for what they had done. And sooner or later, they would get what was coming to them.

But he was not able to stop the torrent of emotions rising up inside of him. He could feel his body being to tremble. He felt Mosaic push up against him, but even she couldn't comfort him through this. Snap could fell all the determination and anger he had built up at that point just melt away, slipping through his finger tips and washing onto the ground below him.

In a weakened state, he couldn't stop the terrifying questions from being asked. He couldn't stop his heart from clenching, burning with intense emotion, as he began to question just what had happened.

The zoners words were getting to him. As zoner after zoner called out for his blood, called for his arrest, Snap could feel his mind begin to slip into doubt. He took in several quick breaths, and a terrifying question rang out in his head.

What if they were right?

Snap shuddered at the thought. He tried to push it away. He tried to tell himself that he wasn't responsible. Rudy, Penny, and Mint were trying to find clues as to who really was doing this. They would find out eventually, and then they would tell the zoners...

Then he remembered one important fact. They hadn't found anything yet to prove his innocense. Despite all their hard work searching, not one zoner found anything leading to the real culprit, that didn't result in it being him.

Everything that was found, everything that went to the incident...

...it all pointed to him...

The more he thought about it, the more terrified Snap became. What if he really was responsible? He had been the last zoner in there. He was a friendly, outgoing zoner, and it would not have been hard for him to lure zoners into a singular location. He had been known for being reckless a few times in the past. Could he have been the reason that place exploded?

Snap shook his head, trying so desperately to shake the horrific thoughts out of his head. He wouldn't do any of this on purpose. He..he wouldn't ever want to hurt a fellow zoner.

Yet, the zoners' harsh words outside, and the realization that he was the only zoner who fit the description of being the culprit weighed heavily on his mind, filling his head with cold dread.

Again, he tried to fight back. Again he told himself that this was all part of the culprit's plan. They wanted him to feel guilty. They wanted him to be tormented by these zoners. They wanted them all to believe Snap was responsible. If Snap allowed himself to get pulled under like this, then he was allowing the culprit to win for certain.

But the nagging emotions, the burning sensation filling his hands, traveling up them as he shivered hard. He could barely detect Mosaic attempting to comfort him, her body laying around him in a ball, her tail curving inwards. Snap just kept shaking, unable to stop himself from listening to the horrible words that just kept on coming. And with each one, his doubt for himself grew stronger and stronger.

"Snap needs to die! He has gotten away with murder for too long!"

"We will avenge the fallen! No longer will Snap terrorize us!"

"He will pay for what he has done to us!"

Snap closed his eyes, unable to fight back against the tears that were forming. He shivered, low cries emmitting from his mouth. Despite knowing it was silly, despite knowing it was impossible, he couldn't help but continue to wonder if he really was responsible.

Could..could he have done this? On purpose or by accident, it was still hard for him to accept. Yet, everything pointed in that direction. It was the only thing that added up and made sense. He...was responsible for the deaths of those zoners. At this realization that he could have truly been the cause, he started to cry harder.

How could this have happened? How could he have done such a thing? How did this happen? Snap sniffled as he shifted himself around and looped his hands around Mosaic's neck. He ignored the pain in his legs, which were nothing more than dull aches with the mental anguish he was going through, and he hugged her tightly. He pressed his face against her, unable to stop the sobs that escaped his throat.

A part of him still hoped that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the one who did all those things. He hoped and prayed that Mint, Rudy, and Penny could find out what really took place, and that they could prove his innocense.

But what were the odds of that? And with the current evidence pointed at him...

No, it couldn't be true. No, he couldn't have... H-He would never do something like this. He would never hurt another zoner this way. No please..he couldn't be responsible. No...

Despite his attempts at trying to convince himself that he wasn't responsible, he was unable to stop the torrent of emotions from watching through him, making him feel sick. His trembling body clung tightly onto Mosaic, his chest feeling like it was burning, clutching tightly. His tears came down faster as he let out more sobs. He could feel Mosaic put her paw on him and pull him closer. He tried to take comfort in that, but he couldn't stop himself from crying.

He silently begged for Rudy, Mint, and Penny to find something to help him, to prove to everyone he couldn't have done it. He hoped that this nightmare would be over soon, and the one responsible would get locked up.

But the thought that it could still be him chilled his body to its core.

sss

Sandra took in a breath of fresh air as she walked along the sidewalk. The day was beautiful...well it always was, unless some kid decided to draw a storm or something. She was in a pretty good mood. The air around her, and the calmness of ChalkZone City, strongly reflected that.

She had managed to get the new machine up and running again. Sure, she had it turned on yesterday, and it made her excited for the lunch rush. But she hadn't actually tried it out yet. She had decided to wait until today, and rather wait until lunch, she decided to do it for breakfast, when she had fewer customers and it would be easier to meet their demands.

She was impressed with how well the machine worked. Even better than the old one. And best of all, it was quieter, and thanks to the shield and encrypted code she gave it, the other zoners weren't going to know it was being run. Their radar systems or whatever weren't going to pick it up, which meant that her machine was safe from being targeted.

She was grateful for the machine. It had taken her a while to make it, and the fact that, in a month, she had been able to nearly perfect it was incredible. This machine had helped her business to boom. She would see to it that no one targeted her precious machine ever again.

Her thoughts turned to Snap. She felt a pang in her chest. It was a darn shame that all this had to have happened. She knew it was required, yet she still felt bad about it. She wanted someway to make it up to him...but that all depended on how everything played out. There was still a chance that...

Her thoughts were interrupted when, as she turned the corner, she heard some distant chatting. Her ears twitched, raising up as she stared out into the distance. The chanting appeared to have been coming from the hospital. She could feel her heart squeeze at this, and she soon realized just what the chanting was all about. She began to rush in the direction of the hospital, going as fast as her clawed feet could carry her, her short cape flapping behind her.

She stopped abruptly as she came onto the crowd. Her eyes widened, surprised to see what was going on. She held onto the nearest street light and watched.

In front of the hospital, she could see a large mass of zoners culminating around the building. It wasn't a full on circling, but much of the front was being blocked. She could see that it was making it difficult for the doctor zoners to bring in more patients. And several doctors that did try were sometimes harrassed by the crowed, clawed at, grabbed onto, even bitten, in plain disregard for any patient that was being pulled through.

Sandra watched this from a distance, unwilling to get too close. She remained quiet, her ears twitching at the harsh things the zoners were saying. Most of them were calling for Snap's death, and others were shouting at the doctors to have him arrested. The whole ordeal filled her with conflicting emotions.

One the one hand, she did feel some sense of pride. Her plan was going smoothly, and the fact that these zoners still think Snap is responsible meant that they hadn't caught onto her yet. She was safe, out of the zone, and Snap was getting the punishment he deserved. After this, she knew that he would never try to cross her again.

But on the other, she still felt bad about it. She hadn't realized the zoners would be this hostile against him. She didn't predict that this many zoners would crowd around the building and chant aggressively like this. She could even see some of them holding up signs, all of them with a horrible message.

She bit her lip, trying to debate in her mind what she wanted to do. She tilted her head up, her red eyes staring towards the hospital. She bit her lip, wondering what Snap was going through. Despite feeling guilty, she did still hope that Snap was feeling bad; her plan would fall apart if he was not. There was only one way to find out.

She would have to go through this crowd to get to the hospital. But how easy was that going to be, what with all the zoners chanting, standing around, not moving? She had her doubts they'd move for her just because she asked. And with her status as being Snap's friend, would she be targeted as well?

That reminded her. She had to wonder how Snap's close friends, like Rapsheeba and Blocky, were holding up. She had forgotten all about them during this time. She hadn't considered what would happen to them. Did these zoners get to them? Did they do something to chase them away? She couldn't see any zoner anywhere with their description.

Well that wasn't any of her concern. She didn't really need to worry about those two. The only one that mattered to her right now was Snap. He was the one who crossed her, and since she made a promise, and promises aren't meant to be broken, he had to be punished.

If it was any comfort to Snap, the next phase would begin soon. She wasn't sure exactly when that would be sprung. But soon he wouldn't have to deal with these zoners anymore. So he could rest easier with that. Then after that next phase was done, it was all over. She would explain to him what happened, and he would understand that she had no choice. She did what was right, and she just wanted it to be over with. She missed him, and she looked forward to when the punishment was lifted, and they could go on as if nothing happened.

But for now, she would permit this to continue. These zoners, their hateful cries, it would drive the point even more into Snap. After she granted him his memories back, this would be something he'd never forget.

She would have just left and allowed Snap to deal with this on his own. But something stopped her. Before she could walk away that far, she paused and looked over her shoulder. She stared back at the crowd, then up towards the hospital building. She felt a pang in her chest, and she let out a sigh.

She couldn't leave. Not yet. She needed to pay a visit to Snap. With all she was doing to him, it was the least she could do for him.

But first, she needed to get around this crowd. She couldn't simply go through it. She would have to go around it. She stood as tall as she could, looking left and right. When she spotted a path she could take that would take her to the hospital without having to comb her way through the crowd, she took it. It wouldn't take her long to reach the hospital.

sss

Snap held tightly onto Mosaic, refusing to let go. He kept his face pressed against her, his body shaking with immense emotion. Outside, he could still hear the horrible chanting. It seemed to just get louder and louder, with no end in sight.

"Snap must die!"

That statement was repeated over and over again. The zoners had stopped saying anything else. Now they were only saying those three nasty words over and over again. There were some deviations, but that did little to comfort Snap. And each time the phrase was stated, it always sounded louder than before, even if the zoners didn't raise their voices.

He sniffled, a few more tears strolling down his face. He had been crying for a while, huddled up against Mosaic. He kept his eyes closed, feeling his cold tears as mucous exited his nose. He felt his cheeks sting, knowing that they, as well as his eyes, were reddened.

He wished his friends were here. He wanted them to be here with him. He wanted comfort. He wanted knowledge that everything was going to be just fine.

But who was he kidding? They haven't been able to help him. They haven't found anything yet to prove his innocense. He himself was no longer certain if he was really that innocent or not. Perhaps he had some side to him that he didn't know about. Maybe he had some kind of hidden aggression streak that was finally coming up to the surface. After all, he did torment Reggie for a while, which in turn nearly caused major problems for Rudy and Penny. He had nearly locked them permanently out of ChalkZone, and all for what? A childish game of payback...

He mentally shook his head. It wasn't like he had meant for any of that to happen. Besides, he didn't hurt Reggie; he just toyed with him a bit. Reggie was fine afterwards, and Rudy and Penny never really said anything about his behavior changing.

But the guilt still remained. His antics still nearly caused his friends to get trapped out of ChalkZone permanently, and that was just one of other problems that he nearly caused. If he had just...

Snap nearly screamed when something loud clanged against his window. He released Mosaic and raised himself up on his knees, taking care to avoid pressing against his burns too much. He stared towards the window, and he flinched when he saw that there was a circular crack in about the center of the window. It only took him seconds to realize what had happened.

After that second, he noticed something else being hurled towards the window. He cringed back as what he noticed was a small stone crashed through the window. He let out a yelp and covered his ears as the loud window break echoed in his head. It was over after a couple of seconds, but he still kept his hands to his head, shivering in fright. He opened his eyes cautiously and looked down.

Sitting not far from his bed was that small stone he saw being hurdled towards the window. There was a small note attached to it. Sucking on his lip, Snap made a motion to Mosaic. She jumped down and grabbed the rock. She dropped it off in front of him. Snap untied the note and looked at it. His eyes widened at what he saw.

A crude drawing of him being hanged.

Snap took in quick breaths, his heart beating faster. The chanting, now louder and clearer with there being a large whole in the window now, added to the anxious air all around him, making him feel even more terrified.

He couldn't stop staring at the drawing. No words. Nothing else. It was just that one drawing. And he found it impossible to tear his eyes away. He licked his lips nervously, feeling them quiver as a load of tears threatened to burst from his eyes. He couldn't hold onto it anymore and he dropped it. With a rush of emotion, he whirled himself around and grabbed onto Mosaic, pulling her close. He cried hard against her, his body shaking.

Snap perked his head up a little as he heard the sound of the door behind him opening. Then came the pitter patter of feet, and tapping. Clawed feet. It was either going to be Dr. Crobat or...

"Hey Snap...?" It was Sandra. "How...are you feeling?"

Snap turned his head towards her. He opened his eyes. His vision was wobbly, making everything unfocused due to his tears. But he could see, plain as day, Sandra standing there. Her blue body, long ears, and red eyes gave her away. She stood there, her arms crossed against her metal chest armor, a concerned look on her face.

Snap didn't answer her right away. He took in a couple shaky breaths, looking left and right. He wondered if she had heard what was going on outside. He wondered if she suffered some brunt of her abuse. He would feel so awful if that were the case.

With more tears flowing down his face, he said, "F-F-Fine... I'm fine."

Sandra stared at him, cocking up an eyebrow. "Do you really think I believe that?"

Snap sighed. Even though he and Sandra didn't know each other that long, she did understand him enough to know when he was fibbing. Plus, she couldn't have missed the horrific chanting outside. That was a dead giveaway that he was lying through his teeth.

"Okay. I was doing fine earlier. But then..." Snap turned towards his head. He did not say another word. He did not need to for Sandra to understand.

"I see..." Sandra looked towards the window. Her pupils widened slightly as she noticed the hole in the window. She moved her head, trailing her eyes along the small, sharp pieces of glass that laid strewn about. She soon settled on the rock that was on Snap's bed, and then the note on the ground. "Not a great day, huh?"

"It's been awful." Snap whimpered softly. "They all think I'm guilty! They have been calling for my death and arrest for...I don't know how long it's been, but I..."

He couldn't say anymore. There was nothing he could say. All he could do was whimper and cry as he held onto Mosaic. The wave of negative emotions that filled him up inside were just too much for him to handle. His heart felt like it was going to be ripped out any second, and even after that, the tears would not stop falling.

Why...? Why was this happening..? Why to him? What did he ever do to deserve this? Why was fate messing with him? Why was it screwing around with his mind? Why did fate want his mental state to be shattered? Why..?

"I know things look tough right now." Sandra walked towards the bed. Her hardened stare from before was replaced with concern. "But you have to hang in there, okay? Things will get better soon. I promise."

Snap stared at her. He wasn't sure how she could be so positive at a time like this. She was not ignorant of the situation. He recalled that she knew full well what was happening to him. The zoners had almost all turned against him. He wouldn't be surprised if some of the doctors would turn against him.

And even if Sandra somehow missed all of that, then the chanting outside should have informed her. The hateful words were filled with negative intentions. Those zoners wanted him to pay, and with how many there were, a part of him began to wonder if he really was responsible.

No...he couldn't be. But what if...?

He nearly jumped when he felt Sandra's hand on his shoulder. He swiveled his head, looking up at her with reddened, puffy eyes. She looked down at him, her eyes narrowed with concern.

"They are just frightened, Snap." She twitched her ears as the haunting words came to her. She shuddered once, her teeth clenching in disgust. "You shouldn't listen to what they are saying. Don't let them get to you."

Snap sniffled. "I tried to i-ignore them. But it's hard." He placed his hand against his forehead. "They won't leave me alone."

Sandra's eyes widened slightly in sympathy, her ears lowering. "Yeah, I understand how it can be difficult." She sat down nexto Snap on the bed. Mosaic jumped off and sat nearby, watching the two intently. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling right now, Snap. With those zoners out there, having turned against you..."

Snap felt his heart twist. His breathing became shakier, each time he was on the verge of breaking down. He turned his head away from Sandra, staring down at his feet, which dangled over the bed now. He felt his body trembling harder, and his lower lip quivered. The river of tears continued to flow down his cheeks.

He could still hear that horrific chanting. It reverberated in his head, the angry words intensifying as if put under a large, vocal magnifying glass. As the seconds passed, it just got worse and worse. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to be able to handle this.

Sandra squeezed his shoulder gently. "Don't pay attention to them, Snap." She said, her voice gentle and reassuring. "They don't know what they are talking about."

Snap looked up at her. "But what if I am responsible?"

Sandra tilted her head at this. "What makes you so certain?"

"B-Because...there's nothing else that..." Snap struggled to speak with his emotion-filled voice. It was becoming hard to speak without releasing a sob or cry after a couple words. "It only makes sense i-if I was the one who.."

Snap felt Sandra press her feather finger against his lips and he fell silent. He let out a couple whimpers as he looked up at her. He stared into her red eyes, finding it hard to turn away. He couldn't explain it, but for some reason he was...comforted by this.

Sandra said, "If you continue to let them get to you, then you are allowing them control over you. You don't want that, do you?" Snap sniffled and shook his head. "I didn't think so. I know it's hard..." She furrowed her eyes slightly. "But you have to try to fight against it. Don't allow them to have a hold of you like this. They are just frightened, and are saying and doing things they don't mean. Once they find out you aren't the culprit, they'll lay off."

Despite Sandra's encouraging words, despite her gentle smile, Snap couldn't cheer up. He couldn't bring himself to be happy. He looked at the ground, unable to stop his shivering. If anything, Sandra's words were making him feel more worried.

What would happen if there isn't any evidence to save him? What if the zoners don't ever find out he's innocent? What would they do then? How far are these zoners willing to go?

After he had seen the image on that rock, he was terrified to know the answer. It seemed as if that they found his supposed actions so horrendeous that they wanted to kill him themselves. They were already calling for his conviction and death. What would stop them from taking the steps themselves? Would he wake up in the middle of the night to a zoner attempting to strangle him?

"Snap, please. Calm down." Sandra whispered softly. "It pains me to see you like this."

Snap stared over at her. He gave her a soft glare. "Calm down...? That's easy for you to say." He said, his voice more bitter than he had intended. "You're not the one the zoners out there want skinned alive!"

Sandra snapped her head back, obviously surprised by his short outburst.

Snap lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"I understand. Times are tough for you right now. I don't know if I could stay in this room for that long, hearing zoners calling for my arrest." Sandra glared towards the window, curling her lip back. She then looked down at Snap, wearing a gentler expression. "The best thing you can do right now is try to focus on the solution. Try to find out a way to prove that you were framed." Her smile broadened. "I'm sure thinking of that would put you in a better state of mind, don't you think? Think positive, not negative."

Snap wiped his nose. He knew Sandra was right. He couldn't just sit around here, feeling sorry for himself. He couldn't allow himself to obsess over all that was going wrong. That would only continue to drag him down. He needed to start focusing on the positives. He needed to focus on a solution, not the problem.

He still wasn't sure exactly how he was going to go about that, though. The scans were always negative. The cops didn't find anything at Shrapnel Tower's remains. It all really did seem like it pointed to him.

But he wouldn't give up. If he gave up, then the culprit truly won. He couldn't let himself be tricked like that. He wasn't responsible. He shouldn't listen to the harsh words being thrown at him. Although it will be hard ignoring those venomous words, he had to at least try. As Sandra said, focus on the positives, not the negatives.

Snap attempted to smile. It was broken, kind of forced, but he still managed it. He looked over in her direction. "Th-Thank you." He choked out, wiping away his tears, clearing his blurry vision. "I appreciate it."

Sandra smiled at him. "No problem, Snap."

Snap smiled at her for a little while, then a frown appeared on his face again. Sandra looked at him worriedly, her expression showing that she was clearly wondering what he was thinking about. Snap looked left and right, biting his lip. "It's still going to be hard proving that I'm innocent."

Sandra blinked at this. She nodded her head. "Indeed, it will be." She admitted. She tilted her head to one said, smiling gently at him. She lifted her hand from his shoulder, pressing it against his cheek. "But think of how rewarding it will be in the end. Imagine how good you will feel after all of this is done and over with."

Snap nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right." He closed his eyes lightly. "I still wish there was..someway I could..." He widened his eyes and turned to Sandra. "Do you have any ideas?"

The blue dragon seemed a bit surprised that Snap was asking her for help. She moved back a little, her eyes widened and mouth open. She then tilted her head further, her eyes looking up as she was deep in thought.

Sandra shrugged her shoulders. "Not offhand..." Snap lowered his head. "Well except maybe for one thing." At this, Snap turned his gaze back at her. "Do you think a more complete brain scan would help?"

Snap was confused. What did Sandra mean by that? He already had some MRIs done of his brain. How were they not complete?

"What do you mean?" He managed to ask.

"Well..." Sandra pressed her finger against her chin. "I have heard that these doctors sometimes only do MRI scans of certain parts of the head. Probably to save time and power I suppose." She lowered her hand, pressing her palm against the rounded edge of the bed. "Well whenever your friends come over to visit, you can talk to them about it. They might be able to explain it better. When are they supposed to be here?"

Snap shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure. Soon I think."

Sandra's eyes furrowed with concern. "You still having memory problems?"

Snap flinched, then nodded his head. "Yeah, I am." He felt a few tears push against the back of his eyes. "It's not as bad. I mean, I remembered a few things from the other day this time. But I..." He placed his hands against his face. "I still can't remember what happened at Shrapnel Tower. I don't remember what happened when that explosion went off."

"I see." Sandra went quiet for a few moments. Snap could hear her sucking in a few sharp breaths, like she was trying to clear her thoughts. He looked at her, but said not a word. She closed her eyes, her ears lowering. "That's a...darn shame you still can't remember anything." She looked over at him. "What is the last thing you remember? Before you woke up?"

Snap was surprised by this question. No one had asked him this before, not even one of the doctors. And quite frankly, he never really thought about it. He had been so focused on the explosion, and the dead zoners, and the survivor guilt that still festered in his stomach, that he didn't stop to think just how much of his memory had been stolen from him. Just how far back did his amnesia spread?

He thought about it long and hard. He filtered the thoughts in his head, ignoring the dull ache that began to surge from the back of his head towards the front. He tried to think of how far back his memory began. His head began to hurt harder, but he pushed through it, his mind's gears grinding as he began to see images in his head.

Then he remembered it. Clear as day. His last memory before everything went..foggy and blurred. He looked up at Sandra, staring at her in the eyes. "The last thing I recall was watching some movie. I..don't think I even remember what happened... Oh and I recall some sound, and some letter. I think it was the invitation...something. But I also have some memories of my friends the following day."

"Ah okay. Well that doesn't seem to be too bad." Sandra pressed two feather fingers against the bottom of her chin. "The amnesia could have easily spread further. Perhaps this was on purpose?" She held her hand up in gesture. Seeing Snap's confused expression, she said, "Maybe the culprit only wanted you to forget things in a small time scale. If you forgot too much, the doctors might have realized you were injured and taken your case much more seriously. But because you only forgot a small time frame..."

Snap's eyes widened in realization. "They are not as likely to believe I have amnesia..." He breathed. He took in a sharp breath, speaking a low, barely audible voice. "Especially since I have nothing in my head to indicate I have amnesia."

Sandra nodded her head affirmatively. "You should keep trying to prove that you are innocent. I still strongly recommend you get a full brain scan...Unless of course, they are already planning on it, which is possible."

"How can they scan my brain but not see all of it?" Snap was confused. "I don't get it."

"Modern technology." Sandra said. She corrected herself. "Or rather, creator intention. That's something I learned in this hospital."

"Well that makes sense, I suppose." Snap had to agree, Sandra did make a good point. A creator could have made a machine that worked like that. If she had...

Wait a minute.

How could she have..?

Snap's eyes widened slowly, staring at Sandra in shock. The only way Sandra could know about their machines was if she knew this hospital well. But she was only around for little over a month, and he never saw her get injured and sent to the hospital for treatment. She wasn't an employee so she didn't work here. The doctor zoners aren't going to just spew information about their machines to just anyone. So how in the world did Sandra...?

"How did..." Snap started to say. There was a glint in Sandra's eyes, a flash of something he didn't like. He cringed away from her, recognition suddenly dawning on him. "You..."

Snap was not able to say anything else. Without saying a word, Sandra shot her hand out at him. He let out a grunt of surprise as the hand wrapped around his head, squeezing it tightly. Snap attempted to struggle, but it was short lived. He felt some kind of cold, chilling energy shoot through his body, and he fell limp against Sandra.

He looked up at Sandra, his vision blurry. He could see Sandra staring down at him, a look of regret plastered on her face. She lowered her head towards him, stopping only inches in front of his face.

"I'm so sorry about this, Snap." Sandra said apologetically. "But I have no choice. You understand, right?"

Snap's eyes widened. He didn't get a chance to speak as he felt a sudden bombardment of something in his head. His body let out a quiver, and his world went dark and silent.

sss

Well that could have gone a lot better.

Sandra did not expect to have to do this again. When she came here to talk with Snap, she did not think she was going to have to take away his memory again. This was going to complicate things. She could only hope that she did not remove too much memory. Just this incident.

She felt so stupid. She should have been more careful with what she said. She should have stifled herself with what she had told him. She had inadvertantly revealed to Snap that she had some little secrets of her own. If she didn't take action, then Snap was going to tell his friends about her, and they would turn their sights on her. She could not allow that.

She looked down at Snap's unconscious form. He was breathing in and out slowly, all traces of fear gone from his face. It was as if he were only sleeping. She smiled gently at him and pulled him back into the bed. She moved the blanket over his body and watched his seemingly sleeping form for a little while. At least he was going to get a bit of peace before the next phase of her plan would come into play.

She heard a low growl not far from the bed. She turned her head, looking at Mosaic. She recalled what Snap told of her. According to him, she was not fully sentient, and more like a smart animal. She wasn't sure just how stupid she really was, but she felt she had to deal with her someday.

But not now. If she pulled a stunt against Mosaic, that would raise alarm bells definitely. The doctors would begin to check the security cameras again... Oh crap. She had forgotten about that. She'll have to take care of that as soon as possible. It shouldn't be too hard, so long as she remembered what this place was structured like.

Sandra smiled gently in Mosaic's direction. She moved towards her, ignoring her low growls that eminated from her throat. She reached forward. Mosaic let out a loud hiss and attempted to bite her. Sandra pulled her hand away just in time. She snorted and glared softly at her.

"Naughty little thing, aren't you?" She rubbed her hand, despite the fact that it wasn't injured. "You really need to learn to control yourself. I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" Knowing what she had to do, she reached out towards the creature again. "Shh...it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

Mosaic backed away from her, hissing loudly, mouth open and all her teeth exposed. Sandra did not stop her advancement. She kept her hand out, moving it back whenever Mosaic tried to bite her.

"Sh sh sh, little one. Everything is going to be all right." Sandra's triangular mark began to glow. As it did, Mosaic froze. Her growling stopped almost abruptly. Sandra smiled. "See? It's okay. You'll be fine. Shh..." She placed her hand on Mosaic's head and shut her eyes.

Mosaic stiffened up her body, her eyes bulging. Her tail wriggled rapidly from side to side. She managed to let out another hiss, and then went silent. In seconds, Mosaic crumpled to the ground. Sandra stared down at her, stroking her hand along the back of her head and down her neck and spine. She hated having to do this to the poor animal, but what choice did she have?

Mosaic would not remember this encounter. She would make sure of that. It was imperative that she did not remember. If Mosaic found a way to draw attention to her, then she was going to be in big trouble. She could have just killed her, but as she reminded herself before, that would only invite trouble. She hoped that Mosaic wouldn't be come an issue later on.

She turned her attention to Snap. She was still saddened that this meeting went this way. She had come here simply to talk to him, and also to encourage him so that he would not suspect she was the one hurting him. But it turned out to be nearly a disaster. She would definitely need to be more careful next time.

Well it was time for her to get going. She raised her and turned towards the door. She was certain someone was going to be here soon. If she didn't leave now, they might question what she was doing here, especially after seeing the unconscious forms of Snap and Mosaic next to her.

Before she could get far, she heard a commotion outside. Not the chanting, but instead something else. Loud sirens... What was going on? She moved towards the window cautiously, taking care to avoid the shattered pieces of glass still on the ground. She looked down, where the large crowd of zoners were still present.

She could see a bunch of cops had arrived onto the scene. There were several police cars parked, their blue and red lights flashing rapidly. She could see that some of the zoners were being dragged towards the vehicles. She needn't hear what was said for her to know that the resisting crowd zoners were cursing at the cops.

She watched this silently, her eyes narrowing slowly. Then, faintly, she smirked. Her plan may have resulted in a reaction a bit more extreme than she had intended, but at least it was working.

sss

"You can't do this to me! Unhand me now!" Taima snarled. He struggled, trying to free himself. Two strong policement held onto him, one for each arm. "You're making a big mistake! It's not me who you should be arresting! It's Snap! Arrest him! He's the one who killed all those zoners! He..."

"Shut it." One of the cops said, growling in his direction. "I don't care if Snap is guilty or not. You still committed a felony."

"No! It's not fair!" Taima wailed. "You have to let me go!"

"Sorry, no can do." The second cop zoner said. "If you didn't want to get locked away, then you should have thought about that before harrassing another zoner. Guilty or not, you should have let us handle that, not play vigilante and threaten him. Besides, what if he turned out to be innocent?"

The first cop nodded his head. He glared harshly in Taima's direction. "Would you be able to live with yourself...?"

Taima glared back at the zoners. He couldn't believe it. How could these cops be doing this to him? He did nothing wrong. It was that blasted Snap who... He growled to himself. It just wasn't fair. He just wanted to bring closure to his sister. Galena died because of that monster. And these cops..they were not going to do a damn thing to stop him. They were letting a killer loose while they arrested zoners who were merely speaking the truth and demanding justice. Is that so wrong?

He struggled to get free, but it was no use. He was not going to be able to free himself. These two zoners holding him were too strong. He was dragged towards the awaiting police car. In seconds, he was going to be shoved into it.

He was not the only one. As he looked around, he could see the police grabbing other zoners. He bit his lip at this. Such a horrible sight... All these zoners were doing was trying to stop the one responsible. Snap was the one they should be dragging into the car, not them.

The thought of Snap resting peacefully in bed, acting as if he did nothing wrong, burned his blood. He was making a fool out of everyone. He was probably sitting here, laughing to himself, making comments about how he was playing everyone with his stupid amnesia scheme. Anyone can fake amnesia, and he knew Snap was doing a pretty good job of it. But the scans were negative...that should have told everyone he was a big fat liar. They need to arrest him now, before he had a chance to do anything else.

Taima let out a grunt of pain as he was pressed against the police car. He felt the cops pull his arms behind his back. The cold metal of handcuffs greated him, binding his wrists together. The door was opened up and he was shoved in. He let out a grunt as the side of his face hit against the leather seat. He managed to squirm around and sit himself up. He looked out the window.

He could see other fellow zoners being dragged off in the police cars. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for them. Poor guys... All they wanted was justice, and this was how they were treated. Taima wouldn't be surprised if Snap put the cops up to this, the bastard...

He heard the sound of doors opening, and he could see the two cops climbing into the front seats. He growled in their direction. He snarled, exposing his teeth. How dare they do this to him... How dare they help that fucker laying around in bed, faking to everyone... How dare they arrest them, when they should be arresting Snap...

He wanted to scream. He wanted to yell. He wanted to demand them to lock up that white and blue fiend. But he knew they were not going to listen to him. He forced himself to relax, leaning back against the leather as the police car began to drive away.

As they went onto the road, headed towards the jail, Taima made a vow. He would stop at nothing to make sure Snap got what he deserved. He would see to it that the little fucker got what was coming to him.

"I promise, Galena." Taima whispered softly. He sniffled softly, bitter and sorrowful tears streaming down his face. "I will avenge you. Snap will not get away with taking you away from me. I promise..."


	14. Negative Scan

Mayday mayday! The ship is slowly sinking! They think I'm crazy, but they don't know the feeling.

-My Demons, Starset

sss

Snap let out a soft groan as he opened up his eyes. The blurred vision of white met him, causing him to flinch and pull his head back. He sat up on the bed, only vaguely aware of the blanket on him, or the sleeping form of a reptilian creature beside him. He placed his hand against his head, rubbing it. A dull ache was making its way across his skull, permeating his thoughts as he tried to make sense of where he was.

It took a while before his vision cleared up. He turned his head from side to side, taking in the view all around him. He quickly deduced that he was in some kind of hospital. But why was he here? The last thing he recalled, he was with his friends. Then a blank and...now this.

He looked down at the collared animal zoner, which appeared to be a croc of some kind. He couldn't help but flinch at its presence; unsure if it was safe or not. The croc didn't appear to be trying to hurt him, even as it opened its eyes and looked at him. Was it some kind of mascot? Why was it laying down next to him on the bed? Was it friendly or was it merely doing business?

Those questions surged through his head, but they were soon pushed away by something more pressing. Something he could not simply ignore.

Pain.

There was pain growing in his legs. He was becoming aware of it, and he could feel it practically reverberating in his limbs.

Snap lifted up the blanket and peered underneath. He caught his breath as he saw that his legs were wrapped up in bandages. The sight of this made his heart race, pounding against his chest. Just what had happened to him? Why was he burned? Where were his friends?

Then there was a nagging feeling in the back of his head. He couldn't make full sense of it. But there was a part of him that was trying to tell him something. A thing to remember, yet he could not think of just what it was.

Just what was it his mind was trying to help him remember? Was it regarding what happened to him? Did something happen to his friends and he simply could not recall? If he could not remember, then just what happened to him? He felt around his head. He did not feel any sore spot. Maybe he didn't get a head injury. But then, how was it that he could not remember, and yet his mind was pulling at him, trying to make him remember something important?

He grippped his head, seething through his teeth. The wave of confusion, pain, and fear that moved through him weighed down heavily on him. He gritted his teeth, trying to fight back against it. He found it impossible to stop shaking. The same question echoed in his head over and over again.

What happened to him?

There had to be a reason this all happened. He would need to find some way to find out. If he were to try to get out of bed, maybe he could find someone who could help him. His legs weren't that badly hurt, were they? With a sense of determination, the small zoner made his way towards the edge of the bed.

The croc zoner immediately got up on its legs. Snap ignored it, pushing it away when it came too close. A risky move. He could have been bitten. But at the moment, he hardly paid attention, focusing on pushing himself over the edge carefully until his feet touched. Almost there...just a little more...

"Ahhh!"

Suddenly, a shockwave of pain surged through his body, originating in his legs. It felt like his legs had been shot full of splinters, cutting their way through even the bone. With tears in his eyes, Snap collapsed on the ground, letting out another cry of pain.

The pain...oh gawd the pain... It was much worse than he had ever imagined. His legs felt like they were being put through a blender. His body quivered, his legs trembling as he tried to cope with the pain. He tried to crawl, tried to get up, but the pain stopped him and he fell back down. Tears stained his cheeks and he let out a series of low whimpers.

He opened up one eye as he noticed the crocodile zoner beside him. In his panicked state, Snap struck out in self defense, trying to make the croc zoner go away. He was not going to become its meal. No, he was not going to die.

But the crocodile zoner did not go away. It merely tilted its head, letting out a guttural growl, and slunk closer to him. Snap attempted to strike again, but when he attempted to move, he aggravated his leg injuries, and his hand dropped down in a yelp of pain. He looked up at the croc zoner fearfully. Knowing he could not get out of the way in time, he closed his eyes and waited for the blow.

At least, soon, the pain would be over. He just wished he could have seen his friends one last time...

But soon, as the seconds passed, he realized something.

The blow had never come.

Snap felt a surge of confusion as the croc zoner pushed its nose underneath his body. No sharp teeth. No horrific pain. Just the feeling of cold, hard scales against him as the croc zoner attempted to push him up. As it supported him, its long tail moved towards the front, and pressed a button he had just noticed was on its collar.

In a matter of seconds, a couple of doctor zoners came into the room. He noticed one of them seemed legitimately worried, while the other seemed merely annoyed. They came over by his side and knelt down. They grabbed onto his arms and hoisted him off the ground. Snap found himself placed back into the bed.

Snap looked up at the doctors in confusion. It took him a little while to work up the will to say something.

"Hey..."

But he spoke too late. The two doctor zoners, as soon as they had appeared, they left, leaving him alone with the croc. Snap glanced down at the animal zoner. It took position next to him on the bed. Snap still felt nervous, but he was now more relaxed now that he knew the creature didn't seem to want to hurt him. He turned his attention back towards the door.

Just what was that about anyway? Why was that one zoner annoyed? Did Snap do something to drive him insane? Was him crawling out of bed such a common occurance that some doctors were getting sick of it?

Snap couldn't help but feel something else was going on around here. There was a piece of the puzzle that he was missing. But what was it? And would he ever find out? Perhaps, whenever the next doctor zoner came in, he could try to ask. For now, he tried to rest against the bed, his mind sorting through the various thoughts that kept invading.

sss

"And that's pretty much what's been going on." Dr. Crobat said. "I believe I gone over everything that I know.

Snap stared at him, his eyes wide. "So...you're telling me that I was caught in an explosion, I was the only survivor, and now I'm suffering from amnesia?"

The doctor zoner nodded his head in confirmation. "That is correct."

Snap lowered his head. His eyes were furrowed slightly. He looked up at the doctor zoner, his eyes now filled with a tinge of fear. "...and there are zoners who think I am the cause?"

Dr. Crobat gritted his beak at this. It had been hard telling Snap everything that had happened in the recent past. It had gotten a little easier telling him about his wounds and the amnesia, but it was always hard telling him about how he was the only survivor. Telling him of the very recent events, of zoners blaming him for the death of the other party goers..that was especially difficult for him to break to the little guy.

He couldn't imagine how Snap must be feeling right now. Just a few minutes ago, he was completely unaware of what happened. He only knew that he was burned somehow, and that's it. That alone was terrifying enough, but now that he knew the truth, he could see it was eating away at the zoner's soul.

He also had to inform Snap of how even some of the doctors think he was responsible. He wished he were making this up, but sadly, there was no way he could have misheard what he had detected when he was walking down the hallway. The other doctors were talking about bringing in some cop to have Snap arrested. He didn't know if they were doing this because of the crowd that demanded it, or because they wanted to do it themselves.

Either way, it was a troubling development. He wished he could say something to Snap to help him feel better. A beacon of hope of some kind. But sadly, he had nothing he could give him. Not even any information on who could have been doing this to him.

Well there were those cameras, but they had all gone static last night for some reason. He needed to have those checked. Likely no useful footage, but with memories of that horrid signal that messed with their equipment, he wanted to take no chances. A repeat of that was the last thing they needed right now.

"So everyone hates me?" Snap said softly. There wasn't just despair in his voice, but also exhaustion, as if Snap's mind was finally giving way to the information he had recieved. "They all want me dead?"

Dr. Crobat stared down at Snap. He smiled the best he could and shook his head. "No, Snap. Not all of them do." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Why, not too long ago, I believe two of your friends... Rapsheeba and Blocky I believe, they visited you."

Snap smiled at this. "I figured they wouldn't think I was a monster."

Dr. Crobat nodded. "They are doing what they can to find out information. As are your human friends, whom I believe are coming along shortly to visit you." Snap nodded his head slowly, but said nothing. Dr. Crobat looked at him sadly. He sucked in a breath through his beak. "I...just remembered something."

"What is it?" Snap asked.

"You are going to be wheeled into the MRI room soon." Dr. Crobat explained. "We are going to do a scan of your brain."

At this, Snap narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why? I thought you said that you already did some scans and they showed up with nothing."

"True, but we were only focusing on certain areas of your brain. This time, we are going to do the full package, which will take much longer." Dr. Crobat said. He held out his hand in gesture as he smiled the best he could. "This may yield some better results for us."

Snap smiled a little at this. But he did not say anything else. He lowered his head, turning his gaze away. Dr. Crobat looked at this sadly, giving a soft sigh. He could tell Snap had a lot on his mind right now, and needed some time to think. He couldn't blame him, what with all that he had just told him and all. He would give Snap the time he needed to think about what he had just been told.

He couldn't give him too much time, though. Soon, the zoner was going to have the MRI scan done. He needed to be as relaxed and calm as possible for the MRI to be completed correctly. He hoped that the MRI would reveal something useful. He was still shocked they didn't think of doing this before, but oh well. At least they were doing it now.

Dr. Crobat lifted up his head as he heard someone coming down the hallway. He didn't need too much clarity to know who it was. He turned his attention back to Snap. "Well I'm going to prepare the machine for your arrival, Snap. I'll give you some time to be with your friends. I hear them coming."

Snap looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Dr. Crobat smiled back, but did not respond. He turned his back to Snap and headed out of the door. He moved down the hallway, brushing past the three humans. He spared them not a glance as he hurried. He had some work to do.

sss

"Well that was rude." Mint commented, curling his lip up slightly. "He could have at least said hello."

"He looked like he was in a hurry." Rudy noted, watching the bird zoner practically zip down the hallway. "I wonder why."

Penny replied, "Oh he probably has some patient he needs to visit or some lab work to do. I'm sure it's nothing."

Rudy hoped Penny was right about that. He and his friends had never seen Dr. Crobat act like that before. It was brief, not much, but it was enough to make him feel a tad suspicious. He had to wonder just what he was off in a hurry for. Could Penny's theory be correct, or was something else going on? Was Dr. Crobat hiding something from them?

He shook the thought out of his head. Right now, they didn't have time to waste on that. They came here to visit Snap, not wonder what the doctors do on a day to day basis. He and the others had really wanted to visit Snap as soon as possible, and he didn't want to delay that.

He wanted to tell Snap about what they had found out. Okay, it wasn't really that much. Very minor, to the point where it was almost like they found nothing at all. Still, it could possibly help them a little bit.

Using his head to gesture to his friends, they hurried into the room where they knew Snap was. The door had been left open. Rudy assumed it was because the doctor zoner knew they were coming, and left the door open for them. That was pretty nice of him. In a matter of moments, he and his friends were now inside Snap's hospital room.

"Hello, Snap." Rudy said, greeting his friend.

The twelve year old could see Snap laying on his bed. His head rested back, his hands laying on his chest with his elbows bent to the sides. He looked like he was trying to rest, but the expression on his face said otherwise. It was clear that Snap must have just gotten the bad news of what happened to him. Rudy bit his lip, a pang in his chest as he realized that Snap's memory was still bad.

Curled up in front of him was Mosaic. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully. As he and his friends walked forward, he could see her twitching. He deduced that she was a very light sleeper, which would be how she was able to help Snap whenever he fell out of bed.

Snap looked over at them. He stared at them for several moments before he eventually smiled. The zoner lifted up his hand and waved to them. "Hello, you guys."

"How are you feeling?" Penny asked. A redundant question as they all knew the answer. But one that needed to be asked anyway.

"I'm sure you already know that." Snap replied. The tone wasn't out of bitterness, but more a tinge of sorrow and resignition. "Dr. Crobat told me everything. I don't think I really need to repeat myself, now do I?"

"No...I guess not." Penny said.

"I don't think you had to put it quite like that." Mint took a step forward, staring intently at Snap. The zoner didn't bother to look at him. This made Mint's eyes narrow slightly. "Oh come on, Snap. Don't be like this. We will find out what's going on soon and.."

Snap shot him a small glare, making Mint freeze and taking Rudy and Penny by surprise. "But you haven't found out anything yet, have you? For all your hard work, for all the days you worked trying to find something.. You still found nothing." He turned his head away. "Just for once, I'd like to wake up to some good news."

There was an awkward silence in the room. Rudy stared at Snap in shock. He hadn't expectd his friend to react this way. Neither did Mint or Penny. They all wanted to say something, but the initial shock prevented them from forming any kind of words. It was clear that Snap was quite upset, in a different way than the last few times.

This time, Snap was much more aware of the situation. More days had passed, more things had happened, and he had more knowledge. He would know by now just how hard they worked trying to help him, and how they keep failing. Snap knows that all their hard work didn't seem to be enough. They were still nowhere close to finding out who had done this to him. Snap's voice...it sounded almost as if he had just given up, and was resigning himself to his fate.

Rudy lowered his gaze, biting his lip. On the one hand, he wished that Snap would be a bit more reasonable and not behave like this. He was going to help no one, let alone himself, acting this way. But..could he really blame him? The guy had been through hell lately. They would all feel pretty bummed out in his situation.

Snap looked back at his friends. His eyes widened a little. He clenched his teeth, realization striking his eyes. "I'm sorry, you guys. I didn't mean for it to come out like that." He lowered his head.

"We've all been feeling a bit tense lately, Snap." Rudy recalled that they seemed to snip at each other a little more lately. But should he be surprised? There was a mass murderer on the loose, and they still don't know who it was, or their whereabouts. "So don't worry about it." Snap smiled at this.

Penny decided to cut right to the chase. "We searched around Shrapnel Tower."

Snap's eyes widened in horror at this. "But that place is condemned! You guys actually...?!"

"For you, yes." Penny nodded. Snap widened his eyes further at this. A flash of guilt entered them. Penny smiled. "We were glad to do it for you, as well as everyone else." Her smile faded. "The place had really fallen apart. Those explosives did a lot of damage. It collapsed..."

"Are you guys okay?!" Snap wailed, nearly jumping out of his bed.

Mint raised up his hand. "Don't worry. We're fine." He paused and then turned to Penny. "Well, she will be."

Snap looked over. He gasped when he noticed the cane Penny was using. "I can't believe I didn't... Penny, what happened?"

Penny walked a couple steps forward. She winced, using the cane to keep herself balanced. Rudy looked at her sympathetically. He was amazed that she could keep up before. "I twisted my ankle when the building back to collapse on us. But don't worry, we're all fine. My leg will be okay before you know it."

Snap didn't seem convinced. His eyes fell upon her leg. Even from there, his reaction showed that he could see the dark bruising on her ankle. "Okay...if you say so..." He whispered. He turned his gaze so his eyes met Penny's. "So...what did you find out?"

"Well it's not much, and..sadly not all of it is good news." Penny said sadly, turning her gaze downward.

Snap flinched at this. "Please go on..." He motioned with his hand.

Rudy was the first one to reply that request. "Penny found evidence that the explosions were caused by fireworks."

"Fireworks..?" Snap asked.

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah."

Penny said, "The marks that I found were a near perfect match for fireworks. So whoever did this, they were using fireworks. This does confirm this was done on purpose, and could not have been an accident. There were too many areas where the fireworks had been placed, judging from the smoke we had seen. And a single firework couldn't have caused that much damage. There had to have been a lot of them, well hidden so the zoners couldn't have noticed them. But also, they needed to be connected together so that all it would take was a single lighting to set them all off."

"This does mean that the zoner responsible had to have done it beforehand. This is something we already knew, but with all the fireworks, I think it's safe to say that this zoner had this planned for a while." Rudy narrowed his eyes. "As for how long, we don't know."

"I'd say it would have taken several hours to get all that set up." Penny said. "There's just no way it could have been set up while Snap was there. There just wasn't enough time between him going in and.."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Snap cut her off.

"Oh that's something else we wanted to tell you. More like bad news, since it won't help us." Mint looked at the zoner sadly. He sucked on his lip before he replied. "You see, we found footage of you going into the party, but..that's all it showed. Well that and the building exploding not long after you went in."

Penny nodded her head, clearly remembering that hoorible footage. "Unfortunately, it points at you as being the killer, as it provides no clues to anyone else."

Upon seeing his friend's expression, Rudy immediately waved his hands in front of his face. "But we don't really think you're the killer! We would never think that!" He sighed, looking away. "But if the other zoners see it..it's going to complicate things."

"I wouldn't be surprised. They were already chanting for my death the other day, as Dr. Crobat recounted for me."

At this, Rudy's heart skipped a beat. He heard a collection of gasps, some of them coming from him himself. He stared at Snap in shock, holding his hand to his mouth. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Did he hear right? Did Snap really say that?

He could see his friend's expression. The pain in his eyes. The mental exhaustion. Something major had clearly happened to his friend. He had his thoughts before. But...zoners chanting for his death...? He never thought things would go this far. How could..how could they do such a thing? He had been in ChalkZone for years and he never once noticed anything that would tell him the zoners would act this way. It came as a complete shock.

It would seem that those zoners, despite their word, had come back. The crowd that he and his friends ran into the other day, who were calling for Snap's arrest, they had come back and harrassed their friend again. This time, they had taken it a step further.

Poor Snap... Rudy couldn't imagine what his friend had been through when it happened. He and his friends noticed not crowd when they got here. But they all couldn't help but wonder if something had happened. Something in the air felt...wrong. Now they knew what it was.

"Oh Snap...we..." Penny bit her lip. She moved closer to her friend. She rested her hand on Snap's shoulder, looking down at him sadly. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."

Snap nodded his head. "I'm just glad that I don't remember the details. I'm sure it was much worse than what Dr. Crobat told me."

"Where is that crowd now?" There was a tinge of anger in Mint's voice.

Snap said, "Don't worry. According to Dr. Crobat, they all got arrested for harrassment."

"Good." Mint said, folding his arms against his chest. "If they come back, I'll..."

Mint's voice was cut off when he and Rudy noticed Penny picking something off the floor. It was a piece of paper, sitting not far from a stone. It was in that moment that the three humans realized there was a hole in the window. This realization sent cold chills down their spine. The zoners had gone further than just yelling at Snap. They had gone to throwing rocks at him to. How could they...?

Things got worse when Penny opened up the piece of paper and looked at its contents. She let out a sharp gasp, her body jolting, nearly dropping the piece of paper. Rudy and Mint rushed towards her, and they had a look as well. Their blood practically turned to ice.

It was a crude drawing of Snap. But it was far from a flattering one. The picture depicted Snap being hanged. There weren't any words on it, but for some reason, that made the picture all the more horrifying. It was a clear message the zoners were sending out to him. A simple yet powerful message.

They wanted Snap dead.

Rudy tried to control the shuddering spreading through his body. He tried to push back the urge to rip the horrible picture apart. He had to keep himself under control. But with the bombardment of negative emotion hitting his head, the shere shock of the discovery, he wasn't sure how long he could pull it off. He could feel the emotions crashing in all around him, threatening to crush him under its weight.

He and his friends had already been worried of the zoners turning against him. They feared that the zoners would turn against him. This fear flared up when they had seen all those zoners crowding outside the hospital. But now things had gotten even worse.

The zoners wanted Snap to die. Now it wasn't just having him arrested. The zoners were starting to think that Snap deserved to die for what he had done. He felt his heart clench in horror. How far would the zoners go? He had been worried before regarding this. Now he and his friends were terrified. What if a zoner did try to go far enough to...

"Don't worry, Snap." Rudy found himself saying. "We will figure out something." He knew that sounded rather tiresome by now. But he wanted to say something to try to cheer up his friend.

"How can you be so sure?" Snap sounded to defeated. "The culprit really planned this out all well, didn't he?"

"Well yeah..." Rudy said, his voice trailing off.

"But this evidence we found with the fireworks might help us." Penny said, picking up for Rudy. "These fireworks caused white flames. There could be a chance that these are pretty rare to come by. Perhaps only a few places sell them." She paused, letting this sink in for Snap. She continued, making sure that he understood the implications. "If that is the case, then we can find the few places in town that sold them and ask for information on customers who bought them."

"In other words, these fireworks could help us get a list of potential suspects." Mint said, a smile spread across his face. "Isn't that great?"

"It certainly sounds great but..will it work?" Snap's question did not come as a shock to them. "It might narrow down the suspects, but that's on the off change this stuff is rare. Even if we do get some suspects, would it be enough?"

"It would certainly help." Rudy said.

"Exactly. Having twenty suspects is much better than having a hundred or a thousand." Penny leaned a little away from Snap. She interlocked her fingers as she turned her gaze downward. "Still, we know that it will be difficult either way. Even with twenty suspects, we would need to find a way to interrogate them all in a short time frame, and try to think of some questions that are more subtle, not outright asking about the explosion."

Rudy remembered when they had talked about that before. It hadn't been that long ago. They had brought it up with each other, and they all agreed that they needed to think of some new questions to ask so they didn't raise too much suspicion. If the culprit is nearby, then if they were ask questions that were kind of crypted, and get answers that weren't as straightforward, they might stand a chance in keeping the culprit from trying to flee. There was no doubt in Rudy's mind that the criminal would want to flee if they found out three creators were coming after them.

He understood why Snap still seemed skeptical. He had every right to be. So far, nothing had really gone in their favor, and Snap's memory was still bad with no sign of improvement. Rudy hoped that something would change soon. Maybe this investigation with the white flame fireworks would help them. But as Snap said, it all rested on if they were rare or not. If they were common, then they'll have a difficult time narrowing down suspects.

"Well I'm glad you guys figured out something." Snap smiled. It seemed a little forced and they could see sadness behind it. They smiled back, wanting to help him feel a little better. "It's better than nothing, I agree. Who knows? Maybe you guys could find some new clues in the midst of all this."

"That's the spirit, Snap!" Mint said with a wide grin.

"Even if this fails," Penny said. "Rest assured we'll keep trying."

Snap nodded his head. "I know you three won't ever give up." His smile remained on his face. He sounded a bit more confident that time. "After all, you are all my friends. And I believe in you."

Rudy, Penny, and Mint couldn't help but smile at this. It touched them deeply that Snap still believed in them. Even after all their failed attempts, even during his moment of weakness, of wondering if they could ever win, Snap still held some level of hope that they would succeed somehow. They all definitely needed hope right now.

And at least things weren't all bad. He glanced down at Mosaic. The crocodile zoner had been doing a good job with keeping Snap safe, or so they had been told. She had been making sure he didn't injure himself more and she seemed smart enough to understand when something was wrong. So long as she was beside Snap, Rudy and his human friends could rest easy knowing that their zoner pal was going to be safe.

His thoughts suddenly turned to Dr. Crobat. Recalling how he had rushed passed them, he wondered if Snap would have any idea regarding that. With that thought in mind, he turned to Snap. "Where was Dr. Crobat going in such a hurry?"

"Yeah, he just pushed us by like we were nothing." Mint muttered.

Penny glared at Mint. "He didn't do that."

"Well he might as well have." Mint folded his arms against his chest. "I hope he had a good reason for that."

"He did." Snap said. All eyes turned to him. "He's setting up my MRI."

"You're getting another MRI done?" Rudy asked. Snap nodded. "When?"

"Soon. Dr. Crobat said they are going to be more thorough this time." Snap replied. "They plan on taking scans of my whole brain, not just certain areas like they had been doing before."

"That's great!" Penny cried.

"What?" Snap asked, confused.

"That was something else we wanted to talk about. We had hoped to speak to the doctor and suggest that idea." Penny explained, holding her hand up in gesture. "I figured that's what they had been doing, and I was going to talk to Dr. Crobat about doing a full scan. But it seems I don't have to do that now." Penny smiled at this, clearly happy that the doctor had thought of the same idea without being prompted. "I hope it works out for you."

"Yeah. Let us know if they find out anything." Mint sounded a little excited when he said that. "Hopefully things will go much better this time!"

Rudy nodded in agreement. He said nothing in response. They could all tell what he was thinking just by looking at him. He was happy for this turn of events. He could feel a tinge of hopefulness in the pit of his stomach. It felt wonderful to sense something like that after the hardships they had been through lately.

There was still a chance things could go wrong. Rudy was not going to let go of that. He needed to prepare himself for a bad outcome. Something could happen in the meantime to make things worse, or the scan would not show anything significant.

But that didn't mean he was quitting. He would hang onto this glimmer of hope. Maybe, just maybe, between Penny potentially narrowing down a list of suspects and Snap getting a full MRI scan, they could finally figure out what happened.

Before any of them could say something else, they heard footsteps behind them. Judging from the sound, it was more than one zoner. Then, seconds later, a group of four zoners, one of them being Dr. Crobat, came into the room. The children moved out of the way, watching as the doctors approached Snap on the bed.

Rudy, Penny, and Mint bid farewell to their friend as he was being pushed out of the door and towards where the scanner room was. As the doctors left, Rudy couldn't help but notice two of the doctors looked a bit annoyed. Well one did; the other looked mad. He felt his heart skip a beat. He hoped that they weren't a couple of zoners who think Snap is guilty. And if they were, he hoped that they were not going to use that against Snap.

He glanced at his friends. He noticed their expressions. They looked worried as well. He looked back. By now, his friend was far down, near a turn point in the hallway. As the doctor zoners turned and took Snap in a new direction, Rudy bit his lip and hoped everything was going to work out.

sss

"Okay you little runt. Get on the table." Came the gruff, irritated voice. "Let's get this over with."

Snap resisted the urge to groan. Of all the zoners he could have been stuck with, it had to be this one. Dr. Crobat and the other two doctors had already finished what they had to do, and were currently stationed wherever to begin monitoring. So he was stuck with the one zoner of the four who appeared to not like him that much.

The zoner was doing a good job with controlling himself. He hadn't really lashed out at Snap. But the way he spoke to him and behaved around him told Snap that this zoner was having a hard itme fighting back the urge to give him a piece of his mind. Snap didn't need any confirmation for him to know that this zoner thinks he was responsible for those deaths. He gritted his teeth, wishing that at least one of the other doctor zoners were here with him.

He was glad that this zoner was nice enough to give him a cane. It still hurt to walk, but the cane helped make it a little easier. He found he could tolerate some walking if he was slow and careful. Each step was light and tentative, and it took him a while to reach where the doctor wanted him.

As soon as he laid down where he had been indicated, the doctor said, "Good. Now hold still while I strap you down."

Snap held still as the zoner applied the straps. He recalled Dr. Crobat said these were necessary just in case he attempted to move during the procedure, since they don't know exactly how long it would take. When the straps were applied, Snap tested them out to make sure they worked. They were soft, so it didn't hurt to pull, but they were thick enough that he couldn't break them that easily.

"I'll go and get you your headphones." The doctor zoner said. "You will be in there for a while. I think you'd have to agree that time would pass much more quickly if you listened to some music, am I right?"

Snap was about to answer, but the zoner never gave him a chance. He turned around abruptly, leaving him alone. The zoner walked over towards the nearby cabinet. After rummaging through it a tad longer than Snap would have thought necessary, the zoner came back, holding a simple pair of black headphones.

The doctor zoner wordlessly fitted them on. Snap winced as the zoner used a little too much force in putting them onto his head. With a clip, the headphones were secured.

"Okay you are ready to go." The doctor stared at Snap for a few seconds. He then shifted himself around and began to walk away. "We will activate the headphones before we begin the scan."

Snap craned his head so he could watch the zoner disappear. He glared softly in his direction. He had a bit of an attitude, but he didn't want to do anything to make him angrier. If his hunch was right and this zoner did think he was responsible, the last thing he needed was to give him anymore of a reason to believe he was guilty.

His thoughts snapped back to reality as he felt the platform he was on being pulled into the machine. He could feel the white lights underneath touch his skin, giving him a kind of warm feeling. It didn't take long for him to be completely inside the machine.

He did his best to relax. Despite his growing fear that something could go wrong, he shut his eyes, gritted his teeth, and attempted to push all worry out through his hands and feet. He could soon feel it dissipate, as if just smoke coming out of ashes. He could feel his heart rate slowing down, and he was becoming relaxed. The accompyment of music helped things along. He knew it was important to stay relaxed during this procedure. He did not want to screw anything up.

Soon the machine hummed to life. He could feel a slight rumble. Fast and quick, just enough so that he knew the machine was starting the scan. He kept his eyes closed, listening to the music while hte machine did its job.

sss

Dr. Crobat did his best to ignore his assistant. He was the one running things around here, not him. And for that, he was grateful. He didn't mind the other two he brought, since they were more cooperative. But this one, whom he had foolishlessly trusted to get Snap into the machine, he was another story entirely.

Dr. Crobat was already aware of the dissent spreading across the hospital. Several doctors were starting to think Snap was responsible. If it weren't for their doctor codes, he knew that some of them would have taken action.

He could usually handle this sort of thing. But for one of his friends to be convinced of Snap's guilt... That was harder to deal with.

He could hear his friend, Dr. Gelcro, behind him, a low growl eminating from his throat. He was a dog-like zoner, appearing to be some kind of husky. He stood on two legs, his bushy tail swishing from side to side, his hands folded behind his back. He was mostly black with some white fur coloring his muzzle. His doctor's suit was a bit torn, a testament to how sharp his claws were.

"I don't see why we don't just turn him in." Dr. Gelcro grumbled, his ears lowering. "We already know he's the only one who could have done it." He looked over at Dr. Crobat, his red eyes piercing through his. "The scan will just confirm that."

Dr. Crobat grumbled softly. "You have so little faith. Besides..." He looked behind him, pointing his hooked back in his direction. "You know why we can't just lock him up. There isn't anything to truly connect him to the crime."

Dr. Gelcro chuckled bitterly. "I'm sure there will be if you looked hard enough."

Dr. Crobat shook his head. It was no use speaking to him more on this subject. It was clear that his friend was not in a listening mood. He, like so many others, truly believed Snap was responsible. And he wasn't going to be swayed so easily unless overwhelming evidence were to be found. And one of the best ways to do that was if he found something on the machine that proved that Snap's amnesia problems were genuine, not faked.

Not wanting to waste more time, Dr. Crobat went to work. He and the other doctors positioned themselves in front of the monitor. They watched as the machine formed images of Snap's brain. He narrowed his eyes and watched with great intention.

He hoped that the anomaly he had seen before would happen again.

sss

Snap rested in the MRI machine. His eyes remained closed. The pleasantary of music filled his ears, making him feel more relaxed. He wasn't sure how long he had been here. He could still hear the hum of the machine, and he knew he was still in the scanner room. But right now, he didn't care how long he had been in. He was just so comfortable, even with the binds holding his limbs in place.

Feeling a bit of drool trickling down his mouth, he realized that he must have fallen asleep. He resisted the urge to yawn, keeping his eye lids shut. He waited patiently for the scanning to get done.

Suddenly, something came to him. His eyes snapped wide open. Whether or not that affected the scan hardly crossed his mind. He was focused on something that seeped into his head without warning. He tried to fight against it, but the imagery came to him, sharp and clear as if he were seeing it happen right now.

Earlier that day, he had a visitor, didn't he? Yes... someone came to visit him. The crowd was chanting for his death. He could hear it in his mind now. He could recall the terrible things said to him. Then Sandra came to visit him and she did her best to cheer him up.

But then during the conversation, she had inadvertantly revealed something she did not want him knowing about. Then she had done something to him...then...

Sandra. It had been Sandra this whole time.

Snap's breathing began to increase. He couldn't believe it. How..how could she do this to him? He thought they were friends. How could she have done this? How could she kill all those zoners? How could she...?

Then something felt like it was tugging in the back of his hiead. He couldn't stop himself from letting out a sudden grunt. It felt like an invisible, tangible hand had grabbed him from behind and yanked him down. He winced as if he felt his head bang against the hard floor below him. He opened his mouth, wanting to call out to the doctors, but something stopped him. A cold sensation rushed through him.

The memory had vanished.

sss

Sandra smirked to herself as she kept her hand raised. She looked towards the window, straight at the MRI scanner that she knew Snap was in. She had been so close, just like last time. But despite her shock of almost slipping up again, she was relaxed and calm. After all, she had fixed things, didn't she?

She stood there in front of the window, her arms folded behind her back. She did not fear if anyone saw her there. Ever since those zoners had been arrested, the others had generally avoided the place. There were still doctor zoners coming, but during this time, there had been no one. She knew she was merely lucky and that she would need a better way to control Snap's memories. For now, she wouldn't worry about that.

Her expression softened up slightly as she looked at the machine where she knew Snap was. She felt bad about how frustrated he must feel, not knowing what was happening. Everything would become clear soon. That much, she can promise him.

She looked forward to when she no longer had to lie to him. She wanted to bring his memories back and tell him what had been going on. She didn't want to keep doing this; it took some concentration on her part.

But for now, she had to keep this up. Snap can hang in there a little longer.

She could see Snap being pulled out of the machine now. She knew that the scan had been completed now. She was thankful. She didn't know how long she was going to be stuck there, controlling his memories to make sure the doctors would see nothing, to make sure that Snap would remember nothing afterwards. She lowered her hand and took a step back, feeling her mind start to relax a little.

Despite her misgivings, she had to admit that this was starting to become a little...fun. Messing with Snap like this, it was becoming a sort of game to her. She couldn't stop the tingling excitement from growing up inside of her.

Sandra immediately wiped the spreading smile on her face. She shook her head, feeling a sense of disgust at the thoughts that had swam through her head. How could she think like that? This was Snap she was talking about. Her first zoner friend. How could she actually be enjoying this..?

Keeping the dreaded thoughts in the back of her head, the blue dragon headed away from the hospital, back to her restaurant.

sss

"There! See! Didn't you see it?!" Dr. Crobat cried, pointing frantically at the monitor.

"Dude...we saw nothing." One of the doctor zoners said.

"Yeah." Said the other. "Everything was normal in the scan. You should know that."

Dr. Crobat looked at the others in shock. He could feel his heart begin to race, pounding against his head. "Wh-What..? How could you not have..? It was right there! A glow that was not supposed to be there!"

"Face it." Dr. Gelcro, a sneer on his face. "Your precious little theory of Snap being innocent is endangered."

Dr. Crobat couldn't believe it. He shook his head in denial, not wanting to think it was true. He had been close. So close... It had been right there, under their noses. He couldn't believe that none of his fellow doctors had seen the anomaly. It had been there. It was not there for very long. But still, it had shown up in the scan.

How could they have not seen it? It was there, plain as day. Sure it wasn't that long. Still, it had been there. It wasn't even very subtle either; it was quite painfully obvious to anyone who bothered to look. Were his fellow doctors really not paying enough attention to notice?

"You must be going crazy, Dr. Crobat." One of the doctors said. "Maybe you need some rest."

Dr. Crobat jerked his feathered arm away as the doctor touched his shoulder. He glared at them, his teeth gritted. "I'm not nuts! I know what I saw!" He jabbed a feather finger in the direction of the monitors. "I know there was an anomaly there!"

"Relax. You're getting all stressed out. That's understandable. These days had been taking a toll on us." Said the other doctor.

"Yeah. Why don't you just go home for the day or something." Dr. Gelcro said with a smile. "You could use some sleep."

Dr. Crobat shook his head from side to side. "I did not imagine what I saw. I swear to you, I didn't..." He clanged his beak together, trying to cope with the surging anger and confusion that swelled up inside of him. "I would not make something like this up!"

Dr. Crobat breathed in and out quickly as he glared at his fellow doctors. They looked at him worriedly, wondering if he was going to snap at them. He realized what he was doing and tried to settle himself down He found it difficult to do so, however, and he could feel his body trembling harder.

He could see Dr. Gelcro was approaching him. Normally, he didn't mind it when his friend approached. But now, with that expression on his face, and knowing whose side he was on, Dr. Crobat couldn't help but feel a wave of tension surge through him. He remained still, his feet firmly planted on the ground, his talons pressing against the hard floor, as the husky zoner stood a foot in front of him.

"Dr. Crobat, you have worked did a splendid job in trying to figure things out. Truly, your tiresome works shows just how much of an asset you are to this hospital." Dr. Gelcro. "However, in light of recent events, I think that you are starting to become a little delusional. You worked so hard that you are starting to see things. As much as I hate to do this, Dr. Crobat, we cannot afford to slow down the investigation."

"W-What are you..?" Dr. Crobat didn't get a chance to finish. The other two doctors came up to his sides and grabbed onto his arms, firmly yet gently. "What's going on?"

Dr. Gelcro smirked at him. "I am going to be taking over Snap's case."

"What? No!" Dr. Crobat was horrified. "You can't do this!"

Dr. Gelcro chuckled, flashing his sharp teeth. "Oh I can, old friend. And I will..."

sss

"No...you're wrong!" Penny cried.

"We don't care what you say. Snap isn't lying!" Rudy snarled.

"How dare you..." Mint started to say.

The doctor before them, a canine named Dr. Gelcro, glared at them. "Are you calling me a liar? I told you what the scan results said." He put his paws on his hips, his claws glinting slightly in the light. "We waited the two days and I guarantee you. Nothing showed up!"

"That doesn't mean that..." Rudy started to say.

The cafeteria room erupted in an intense argument. The other patients who were there watched, listening in on the conversation. Some of the cafeteria workers also watched. The fact that there were witnesses made Penny grind her teeth in anger. How unprofessional could this Dr. Gelcro guy get?

It had been two days since the MRI scan had taken place. Well the more completed one that is. They learned that nothing unusual showed up in the scan, but they had decided to wait the two days for more detailed results to come in. She and her friends had hoped that something would show up. But the scan was negative. Not even a slightest blip had shown up, according to what she and the others had been told.

Poor Snap was more distraught lately than he had ever been. And no wonder. She and her friends were horrified when they found out that Dr. Gelcro, one of the zoners who believed Snap was guilty, had taken over his case from Dr. Crobat. While Dr. Crobat had been genuinely helpful, all Dr. Gelcro cared about was convicting Snap. And he wasn't the only one.

Standing beside him, joining in the argument, were four other doctor zoners. One female and the rest male. They all insisted on how Snap was lying to them all. The scans show up with nothing, so therefore, Snap was decieving them. Rudy, Penny, and Mint did their best to defend their friend, but they knew they weren't going to convince these zoners otherwise.

"I-I...I wouldn't..." Snap whimpered softly after one of the zoners threw him a harsh accusation. "I'd never do that..."

The doctor zoner, a snake-like zoner with limbs, sneered at him, flicking his black tongue in and our. "Yeah right. Don't lie to us, Snap. We all know you are guilty."

"Yeah!" Said the female zoner, a tall, spikey hedgehog. "So why don't you make it easier on yourself and just admit the truth."

"I am telling the truth! I don't remember anything! I swear!" Snap cried.

The female zoner snarled. "A likely story.."

"Leave our friend alone!" Rudy shouted, positioning himself in front of Snap. "He would never do such a thing! He would never lie about anything!"

Dr. Gelcro laughed coldly at this. "Oh really now?" He tilted his head to the side. His intense eye, practically glowing, stared right at the boy. "Can you provide any proof for us? Any piece of evidence that shows that your friend is innocent? Tell us something convincing..." He folded his arms against his chest. "Then maybe we'll believe you."

Penny and her friends said nothing at this. They kept close to Snap, offering their support. They glared back at the doctor zoners harrassing him. She wished she could say something to defend Snap with. She wished she could say something to convince these zoners otherwise. But right now, they really had nothing to go on. As much as she hated to admit it, the doctors had legitimate reasons to be skeptical of Snap's claims.

But she wouldn't give up. Somehow, someway, they would find a way to prove that Snap was innocent. She didn't care what they said. They would find a way to convince even the most hardened skeptist of Snap's innocense. It was just going to take time.

"Hmph. I knew you couldn't do it." Dr. Gelcro said with a sneer. "But don't be too upset. No one can prove your friend's innocense because it is impossible. The only logical explanation is that he is faking his amnesia to get out of jail time."

Snap shook his head. "That's not true!"

"Oh shut it!" Dr. Gelcro snarled at him. Snap cringed back, letting out a low whimper. Before the children could protest to how their friend was being treated, Dr. Gelcro cut them off. "Oh relax, will you? I'm not going to toss your friend in jail, no matter how tempting it is. I'll still be doing what Dr. Crobat attempted, and try to make sense of what's going on. But unlike that softy, if I find nothing, I will take action."

The children glared at the doctor zoners. Dr. Gelcro and his comrades merely smirked at them. Then, with a simple wave, they turned and walked away, leaving them alone. The patients and cafeteria workers looked on, but a glare from Mint made them turn back to their business.

Penny looked down at Snap sadly. She put a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Snap had been trying to eat his lunch, but the confrontation with the doctors had clearly unsettled him. She bit her lip, wishing she knew what to say to her friend.

She and the others still couldn't believe that, even with a more thorough scan, nothing had shown up. Now the doctors were convinced more than ever now that Snap was lying to them all. She knew this wasn't true. She knew that Snap wouldn't lie about this. Even though the evidence points in that direction, she knew it was still possible that Snap was suffering from something.

She recalled what Dr. Crobat said, not long before he informed them he was no longer a part of Snap's case. He had noticed an anomaly on the scan. It was brief, and disappeared fast. But it was still there. The fact that an aomaly was present at all did fill them with hope.

If there was really was an anomaly, that meant that something was really wrong with their friend. The situation was a terrifying one. It was clear that, if this anomaly was disappearing whenever a scan was done, then the culprit was responsible, and if they were responsible, it made them shudder to think just what they were capable of.

She hoped that they could learn more about this anomaly soon. Without it being able to show up on the scans, however, she wasn't sure how they could prove it was there. They had to think of something, though, and fast.

"Oh Snap..."

Penny and the others turned their heads at that voice. They saw Sandra approaching them slowly, a sad expression on her face.

"Hello, Sandra." Rudy said, waving his hand. "Did you...?"

Sandra nodded her head. "Yes, I heard the whole thing." She shook her head. She looked down at Snap, her expression holding nothing but the strongest sympathy for the little zoner. "I'm so sorry that this has been happening to you, Snap."

Snap lowered his head. "Yeah..."

Mint looked down at Snap. "Don't let those doctors get to you, Snap."

"They are just frightened and confused." Sandra said, continuing off what Mint was saying. "They don't understand what is going on, so they play the blame game. Don't worry. They'll soon learn that they are wrong."

Penny smiled at this, as did Mint and Rudy. Snap, however, didn't seem so convinced. After that argument, it was easy to see why he wouldn't be in the most cheery of moods. He was finishing up his meal, eating painfully slowly, chewing at a snail's pace. Then he put down his fork and pushed the plate of food away. He must really be upset. He hardly touched anything.

Sandra looked at Snap sadly. She took a few steps towards him, her tail swishing from side to side. "Do you want me to help you back to your room?"

Snap looked up at her. He gave a slow nod of his head. "Yeah..thank you.."

Snap grabbed onto his cane and got out of the chair. His eyes bulged and he nearly toppled forward from the pain. Sandra rushed forward and grabbed onto him. She held onto his arm, the one not holding the cane. She allowed Snap to support himself against her. She began to guide him down towards his room.

Penny, Mint, and Rudy watched as Sandra helped Snap. They smiled, glad to see that not all the zoners were so quick to label Snap a monster. They wished that more zoners would be like Sandra. Understanding, not jumping to conclusions.

She and her friends decided to follow. They still wanted to talk to their friend more, and they need to discuss the next course of action. Even though the scan results had been a failure, Penny hoped that the fireworks could turn luck into their favor.


	15. Perplexion

Help me help you. They won't be there. Help me help you. They won't see.

-Hurt, Thousand Foot Krutch

sss

Mosaic wasn't sure what to think of everything that had been going on. The confusing colors and sounds, back and forth, watching this blue thing... What was it the other beings liked to call him? Snap? Yes, that was it. Snap the humanoid zoner.

Names...what was the deal with them? Mosaic never understood it. Even her name, why did she have it? Did the sky and ground need names? Did a tree need a name? Did the ground beneath her need a name? She did not like having a name, but she had come to accept it, and got used to it. Mosaic... That was the name the medicine givers around her gave her, so that is what she would call herself by.

For days on end, she had been watching this humanoid zoner. She was laying down next to him, feeling a bit tired. She had grown weary of watching him, but she remained loyal to her duties. After all, the biggest price anyone can claim, well besides food and water, was loyalty. She would not betray the loyalty that she developed with the medicine givers. Even if she did not fully understand what was going on, she would not leave Snap's side.

She turned her head towards him, her nostrils flaring. Her vision was not the best. Or so she had heard. She could not comprehend what it was like seeing the way the others do. The one whom had given birth to her, the one in a world beyond her reach, they had made her see largely in black and white, although she was aware of some shades of blue and green. The idea of there being more colors was beyond her grasp of understanding.

But despite her supposed disability with seeing, it was more than good enough. She had sharp eyes, able to make up details that she was certain the medicine givers did not notice themselves. She often see them walk by, never paying attention to the finer details in life.

She watched Snap rest. The zoner had been taking to some place in this artificial cave...what did they call it? Hospital? Yeah that was it. He had been taken to a...room... in this hospital. Something about wanting to see his insides without ripping him open. Seeing body parts without having to slice the flesh apart... It sometimes amazed Mosaic that such things were possible.

How did these zoners wield such capabilities? How did they get these adaptations? She had not seen the roaming zoners who did not living the city do this. The ones that acted more familiar for her, just trying to survive, not working on these...machines, as they call them, or doing what she saw as meaningless tasks.

Jobs. Why jobs? Why not just do whatever it took to survive? That is the way it always had been, right? What will they accomplish with jobs, expending energy like that? Whatever. It was not her place to control them.

Why did she listen to them? Sometimes she wondered that. Perhaps it was more of a benefit than anything. She did not know how to hunt and get food for herself. The medicine givers do that for her. Another instinct, or as she refers to it, basic knowledge. Why fight for food if food is brought and delivered without a fuss? She was simply making good on an offer she could not refuse.

She had never expected to be watching over a humanoid zoner. Even from the start of her stay here, it was not something that ever crossed her mind. She did not anticipate the future as much as the medicine givers appeared to. Go with the flow, she always said to herself.

Watching Snap was sometimes annoying. She wanted to get up and walk around. She could feel her leg muscles getting stiff. They needed to be stretched. But she was put in charge of keeping Snap from hurting himself. She had witnessed it herself over and over, enough that she could understand why.

These zoners, the ones in this cave..or building is they called it, they were social. They liked to gather in groups. They liked interacting with each other. More positive interaction as well, not the kind that comes in the form of proving who is stronger or better at somethign. And these medicine givers, they did not want Snap to harm himself. That was why they wanted her to keep an eye on him.

Snap had something wrong with his head. Mosaic didn't fully understand it. She overheard one of the medicine givers state that Snap had something in his skull. How in the world he got anything there without expiring was beyond her. But she had seen the evidence for herself, the symptoms of this item in his head.

Snap appeared to have trouble remembering that his legs were not working. Even now, she could still smell the burns, underneath all those bandages. She was surprised that Snap did not. Then again, it would seem a lot of these zoners had little to no sense of smell. They could not detect the various odors that she could. Sometimes she wondered they felt like how she did with multiple colors. Could they, too, not grasp the world of scents all around them? Was it far beyond their grasp?

Life would be so much simpler if everyone could rely on smell more, to detect more odors, to see things that cannot be seen with the eye. Sometimes, the eyes can lie. The eyes can detect things that aren't there. But the nose... It was impossible to go wrong with that. The nose revealed so much more, including mood, intention, gender, among other things.

Her thoughts shifted back to Snap. Speaking of scents, she could tell something was wrong with him. She lifted her head and she moved closer, careful not to wake him from his slumber. She took in a few whiffs to confirm her hunch.

Yes. Strange smell.

Not bad smell, but something unknown.

Something was not right.

She had never detected a scent like this before. It was very different. She knew that this smell did not belong on the blue zoner. It had a floaty sensation to it. Lingering, but not fully bonded with the other, more natural smells the boy's body emitted. This smell also seemed to move... If she could see it, she would notice it wrapping around his body, nearly encasing him.

Her eyes narrowed at this. She tried to think of a smell that did this. The only time she could recall something similar was when one of the medicine givers got something on him. Some strong smelling medicine if she remembered right. But Snap did not bathe in anything unusual, and unlike that strong smelling medicine, this one seemed to permeate Snap's skin. As in, it seemed to be coming from his body, yet it was not part of his body. A confusing contradiction that made her head spin with questions.

And that dragon zoner they keep referring to as Sandra..

There was something wrong with ther.

When the dragon zoner entered her mind, something tugged away in the back of her skull. There was something about that zoner she had to remember. Something important. It was as though Sandra did something..and now she forgot what that was.

This startled Mosaic. She was not one to forget things so easily. If Sandra did something that made her apprehensive even at her name... What could she have done? And why would she forget?

Mosaic began to wonder if Sandra was the cause of Snap constantly forgetting that he was injured. There was something about her that she just did not trust. The strange smell... She detected something similiar on Sandra. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe she just smelled wrong. Still, it was something worth investigating. She had to know if Sandra had any part of this.

Even though she found watching the small zoner to be annoying, she was kind of growing fond of him. He wasn't that bad, really. And she kind of enjoyed the company. It was different than just hanging off by herself most of the time like she usually did.

She felt obligated to help him further than just simply watching him. Day in, day out, whenever she heard him scream, she felt strange. A sense of emotion she did not usuall feel before. Fear of him getting injured. The female urge to rush to him and guard him, as if he were a member of her own species. She did not want to hear his heart stop beating, nor hear the last of his breath. She wanted to ensure he remained among the living.

But to do that, she had to get to the bottom of whatever had been happening. The only way she could see that being possible was to do some investigating herself.

But she couldn't leave Snap along. The medicine givers would not be happy with her. They might even punish her by taking away her food. Then again, would they bother? She detected some being...angry or apprehensive around Snap. And she heard talk of some wanting him to be sent to that place they call a prison. The metal cave that was off in the distance. She had been to it a few times, and she could remember, in detail, what it was like.

The dankiness, the smells, the noises, it all intermixed in a confusing jumble, making her shudder. She did not want Snap to be condemned there. She did not feel he deserved it. She would fight in his defense if she could. But sadly, she had no way of communicating with the medicine givers.

They understood nothing about the intricate art of body language, or the subtly of voice level, at least to the extent she is aware of. Even the way she hisses and growls told volumes to any who were willing to listen. But alas, she was alone in this endeavor. She knew of no universal translator to help her. She knew of no one who could inform the medicine givers of what she wanted to tell them.

Likewise, she could not understand their language either. At least written. She was pretty good with spoken. Someone tells her something, she understood what they were referring to. But written... It was all a big puzzle for her. The scratches on the walls, forming repeated patterns, the black splotches that repeated over and over... She could not wrap her mind around it. She had tried to do what the zoners call reading, but it always slipped her mind. She could not make heads or tails of these things they call words.

Some were short. Some were long. Some were in the middle. Then there small spots and slashes in certain areas. There was no pattern she could pick up, no visuals to help her. Meaning was lost, and she found it amazing that the zoners were able to see understanding in these words and know what was supposedly being said.

The only written language she could understand somewhat was some form of..picture words. What did they call it? Hieroglyphs? A difficult word to remember. So she just refers to them as picture words.

This language was easier for her to grasp. Despite not using her sight as much as smell, she did not neglect it. Strange scratches did nothing for her, but images..she could pick those up more quickly. Picture words provided more context for her. She was able to grasp them, because she often knew what the pictures were of, and from there, figure out association, and learn quickly what they were supposed to be telling her.

But would the medicine givers listen to her if she tried to communicate via picture words? Probably not. She usually saw these types of zoners write in the strange scribble and scratch language, using symbols that had little bearing on the world around them. How inefficient... This would prove making communication that much harder.

But she would find a way, somehow.

She had one idea of what she could do to being her investigation. The room that the boy was taken to, maybe she should look there. That was where they looked at his insides without cutting him upon. Machines...she believed they were what they used to accomplish that. Would the machines reveal anything to her? Only one way to find out.

She still felt reluctant about leaving Snap's side. She knew the medicine givers would be quite upset with her. She would be able to smell it from a great distance. She might be able to detect some kind of smell that would tell her more of what was happening with Snap.

She watched the zoner sleep. She raised her head, taking a couple more smells. The strange stench from before was still there. She snorted, tryin to get the horrible smell out of her nostrils. She didn't want that lingering in there while she went over that strange room. She could not afford getting the smells crossed like that, otherwise, she could end up smelling incorrectly, and jump to false conclusions.

Snap was not going to wake up for a while, anyway. This was the time of long sleep for him, a rest without stirring. He would not open his eyes for a while. He should be fine. She would not be gone that long anyway.

Mosaic climbed up to her feet. She moved towards the edge of the soft thing they called a bed and jumped off. She turned her head so she could look behind her. Making sure that Snap was still sleeping, she turned her attention to the flat, vertical piece called a door. She got up onto her hind legs, and used her jaws delicately to turn the metal thing that allowed the door to be pushed away, creating an opening that enabled her to slip through.

She traveled along the metallic tunnel, sharply edged, not round like she would normally expect. She had learned her way around this strange cave made of angles and flat surfaces. Using smell and some visual signals, she was able to navigate down the appropriate tunnels to reach her destinations. Today was not going to be any different.

She kept walking down, careful not to bump into anything or run into any medicine givers. If they saw her, they would take her back to Snap most likely. They would not know what she was doing, nor would they try to understand. Not like she could even tell them anyway.

Up ahead, she could see that the tunnel split two ways. She looked around as she reached the end, turning her head left and right. She looked up at the wall, looking at the strange square rocks that jetted out. She could see more of that scribble scratches on there. She paid that no mind, and instead looked at the pictures. She stared at them intently, taking a few steps forward so she could get a better idea of what they were.

One picture showed what looked like two rectangles attached together. It was hard for her to understand just what this was supposed to be, but if she remembered right, this was associated with the medicine givers treating the injured that were just brought in. Stopping the fresh flow of blood and all.

The other picture showcased what appeared to be a transparent square with a scarely detailed bone and some muscle. This was the path she wanted. This was where they take patients to have their insides checked out. She kne wthis was where Snap would have been taken. Wasting no time, she headed down the tunnel.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't end there. She soon came to a three way split off, a trio of tunnels in front of her. She let out a low hiss of frustration. Why couldn't they make it simple? Why not just one room for everything? Why split it off like this? How did they keep up with this?

She did her best not to think about that. She could already feel her head aching as she thought about these strange concepts that alluded her. Her brain needed to be thinking about getting to that room, not worry about concepts that, in the end, mean nothing to her. She looked up at the square rocks on the walls, turning her head from one to the other, trying to figure out which one she wanted to go in.

She was able to pick out the symbol she realized was for what Snap had done to him. The image showed what looked to be a long, nearly flat tunnel with a patient stuffed into it. She was positive this was the right one. Even as she took in a breath, she recognized Snap's scent. She immediately headed down the tunnel.

She kept walking down until she came to a part where the tunnel curved to one side. She followed it carefully, and soon her nose was bombarded with a wave of smells. She snorted and she tilted her head up. Through her grey and blue vision, she could start to make out some shadows on the ground, moving along, bending and shortening to the whim of the ground's shape. She could also detect speaking. At this, she had to travel lightly. She slowed her pace and walked forward until she came to the bend. She peaked her head out, looking at what laid before her.

She was in a large room of the medicinal cave. She could see wood-like rocks, oval-shaped, some with some straight edges, jetting out of the ground. She could see some medicine givers there, working at these glowing, hard things that occassionally made a blip kind of sound. She often saw them there a lot, and she could see some kind of glowing image that appeared to change depending on what the medicine giver was doing.

Luckily for her, there didn't seem to be too many medicine givers in this part of the hospital. The medicine givers that were available seemed way to occupied with the glowing thing to really pay attention to her. She did not understand its appeal, but she used their distraction to begin to slip past them.

It was times like these she was glad they were largely scent-blind. There were some medicine givers that could smell quite well. But these zoners were more humanoid, like Snap. Their noses would be too weak to realize she was there.

She walked along the cave room's wall, keeping her body close, but not too close so her scales didn't scrub up against it. She kept a single eye on them while her other scouted the route ahead. She nearly froze when she heard one of them shout something. She thought that they had detected her at first. She relaxed when she realized it was actually directed at..whatever the heck that thing they were staring at. Darn her if she cared to remember what it was called.

She was able to slip into the next tunnel without attracting attention. She made her way down this new tunnel, which was straighter and had a different scent than where she had started. She walked down. About half way, she froze as something entered her mind.

Didn't the medicine givers mention something about having a way to watch others without being there? The thought shook her. This meant the medicine givers would know that she left her duty. She clenched her teeth, wondering how she was going to handle that. Oh well, she supposed she could worry about it when the time came. For now, she had a mission to complete.

She followed the faint trail she recognized as Snap. Some other smells as well. At least one annoyed, and one a bit angrier. Those scents weren't that important. She focused on Snap's, who had an anxious, terrified smell to it, having an almost sweet scent wafering off the edge. She could also detect, faintly, that odd, permeating smell she detected in his room. The trail was pretty clear for her. She could almost see it, a line of pale blue moving down the tunnel, straight into another of those door things.

Unlike before, this was open. A crack, but still enough that she would push her tail in and pull it open. She slipped inside slowly. She winced as her claws clanged against the ground. She paused and listened, making sure that no one was following her. When she was able to assure herself that no one heard her, she continued in.

The room was a bit large. Not as much as other rooms she had seen. It was long and rectangular in shape. She could see a machine in the middle. It appeared to be segmented and round, almost like a giant steel caterpillar, except with no legs and sort of split open, allowing access inside.

She approached it slowly, eyeing it warily. She had never been this close to the machine before. She had no idea if it was turned on..or whatever it was called. She crept closer, her body low to the ground. She reached out with her paw and pushed against it quickly, then backed off. She kept her eyes on the machine, waiting for some kind of movement. When nothing came, she relaxed a little. This machine was not alive for the time being. She was safe, so she could explore it a bit without worry.

Mosaic climbed up onto a platform that jetted out of the machine. She stood carefully, not wanting to slip and fall down. She stared down at her feet, having been forced to keep them in a sort of straight line. She moved forward a little and poked her head inside the machine.

It was rather hollow. It was almost like a bizarre version of a dug out tunnel she had seen before, only this was crazily smooth and indented. The parts appeared to be moveable to some extent. She walked in a little further, soon stopping when she realized that her body would not carry her much further into the machine. She could feel her sides pressing up against the walls. She did not want to get herself stuck, so she stopped walking.

She turned her head from side to side. She could not make out too many details here. She was not surprised. The sense of sight was often weak, and she pitied the foolish species that relied too much on it. She lifted up her head and resorted to a much more reliable and precise sense: smell.

She could immediately detect the cold, almost damp scent of the machine. A bizarre and unique smell she usually noticed only one machines. She had to sniff a couple of times before she could detect Snap's smell.

For the most part, he seemed much more relaxed here than he was in the hallway. A couple more whiffs, and she was able to reveal to herself that Snap, at least at one point, was nervous or apprehensive about something. His mood had clearly changed, but why? She stretched her head furher in, struggling to smell some more.

There... It was there.

Faint. Lingering. Still detectable.

That odd smell from before.

Still lingering, still permeating.

Mosaic was a little surprised with just how strong this smell was, how long it was able to last. Snap hadn't been in here for a while, and yet the smell was still strong, clinging to the machine almost like an infant to its mother.

And there was another smell here, too. This one was a lot harder for herself to describe. It wasn't quite as lingering as the first smell, but it was still pretty strong. It only lasted in a short area of air, suggesting that it was a short-lived smell. It had a unique scent to it, very different from anything she smelled before. It was so confusing...what was this?

She pulled herself out of the machine and sat on the hard, flat ground for a few moments, staring at the machine. She tried to make sense of what was going on here.

This smell... What was it? It was just as difficult for her to identify as the smell she recognized on Snap. It was not an emotional scent, or anything determining health. It wasn't a chemical smell either. Yet...it almost seemed...familiar... She took a few more whiffs, her nostrils flaring, and she suddenly realized what it reminded her of.

She had spent some time outside, wandering around. She usually just went for short walks, accompanied by a medicine giver. They probably thought they would get lost or something.

The walks were largely uneventful, and just a way for her to stretch her legs. One day, she and the medicine giver came by someone who was hurt. They helped them in and, just like with Snap, she had been assigned to watch this zoner. They had given off a smell, which she had later recognized as healing.

But wait...? Healing...? Was that what she was smelling?

No, this seemed wrong. She never got worked up over the smell of healing of that one patient, or any other she had detected before. But this smell, the scent of healing, it seemed almost...tainted. It had an off-putting edge to its smell. Something about it pointed to danger.

But how could healing be dangerous? Was it actually something else? But then..how could Snap have a permeating smell that was close to healing? Why did the machine have this?

It would seem her mission just got a bit more complicated and confusing, as if things weren't difficult enough. Now she had to figure out just what was so dangerous about healing, and if that was even what she was smelling at all. She could be mistaken. She could have smelled wrong. But it would require further searching.

She turned her head towards the clear wall, which the medicine givers called a window. She narrowed her eyes slightly as she stared at it. She had to wonder... could this help her out?

She noticed that someone could be standing there, looking on the inside, and likely not get noticed by anyone here. Maybe if she went outside and looked there, she could detect something out there that might help her. She wondered if it was possible that someone was standing out there. She had a good idea of who it might be if that were the case.

It took the croc zoner sometime to get out of the building. Navigating her way out was not as easy as simply going from one building to the next. So far, none of the medicine givers attempted to stop her. They allowed her to go about her business, too busy with their own. If any of them spotted her on their far away lookers, they didn't bother trying to force her back to Snap's room.

Now that she was outside, she took in a deep breathe. She could detect the metallic smells of the city all around her, intermixed with some smog, and the intermingling scents of different zoners, mostly humanoid ones. She could tell that a lot of zoners were here. Even if she didn't hear them chanting Snap's death a while ago, she could simply smell them, and know they were here, and know that they were angry. The stench of anger and rage was strong here. She snorted. She hoped that this, along with the smells of the thing they called a city weren't going to disrupt her.

She walked over to where she knew that clear wall was. She moved slowly, her feet touching the small patch of soft grass. She looked intently at the window. When she got close enough, she could tell that, whoever stood here, could easily see inside. And due to how the machine was structured, they could probably also tell if Snap had been stuck up inside it.

The realization sent a chill down her spine. She was unable to completely push back the feeling of dread. The possibility of someone standing here watching... Could it be linked somehow?

That was when she detected it. A strong odor that she previously did not detect before due to the other smells. It was hovering around here, lingering in the air as if it had nowhere to go. Her eyes widened as she recognized the smell.

It was that same healing-like smell she detected earlier. Only this time, it was more clear, as if this had been the origin. It swirled around, as if it was being pulled back and forth. She did not understand how a smell could behave in that manner. This peculiarity only served to increase her anxiety of the situation.

Another sniff. She froze. What was this? Another smell? Familiar smell. She could have sworn she...

Sandra.

She immediately bared her teeth in reflex, snarling at the ground where she detected the two-leggers scent. Sandra's stench was all over here. It intermixed perfectly with the healing smell. Not only that, but Sandra's smell gave away a distinct determination edge. This had been deliberate. There was no other explanation.

The croc zoner's mind raced as she began to piece together what had happened.

Sandra had been the culprit this whole time. She was the one who set off the flames that killed so many zoners. She was the one who framed Snap. She was the one who ensured that Snap would recall none of it. She..put something in Snap to make him forget. And then she had been waiting outside this clear wall, and whenever the medicine givers tried to see his brain, she would ensure they found nothing.

She looked left and right, allowing this information to sink into her head. Sandra had been tricking them. Snap and his friends, and surely everyone else. Her apprehension towards her had a legitimate cause, but who would believe her? Sandra would convince them that she was nothing more than an unthinking, unfeeling zoner. The thought made her growl.

She would need to figure something out. She remembered that those non-chalkies, Snap's pals, they would come in soon. Rudy, Penny, and Mint, she believed. If she could somehow give them the message... Would they listen? They might. They all seemed willing to listen, especially if it concerned Snap.

Mosaic wasn't sure yet how she would tell them anything, since she does not know written language now can she speak. She would have to figure out something quickly. She had no idea how long it would be before Sandra would make her next move.

She lifted her head up, staring back towards the entrance of the cave they call a hospital. She should be getting back to Snap. He might be waking up soon. She had been gone a while, or so she believed. Best to get back in there and make sure he wasn't hurting himself. Taking the moment to survey her surroundings, trying to see if Sandra happened to be watching close by, she made her way back into the building.

The crocodile zoner made her way through the building. For some reason, it did not seem to be as difficult for her making her way back up as it was to come back down. The medicine givers didn't seem to populate the hallways as much this time. Or perhaps that was just a malfunction on her brain's part. She ignored it and continued on.

It didn't take her too long to find the jetted area. The...stairs...was they called it. She went up them, taking care not to allow her tail to get banged up. She hated these stupid things. She could see why the two-leggers weren't bothered by it. They usually didn't have long tails, and if they did, they could raise them up high quite well. But with her, that isn't possible. Her tail is just too thick and heavy for her to keep straight up into the air. Oh well, she'll have to make do.

She was glad when she reached the top. She was tired of climbing up those steps already, despite having only been walking for less than a minute. She shook herself and she headed back towards where she knew Snap's room would be.

As she walked over, she began to think about Sandra. When she realized that Sandra was the one who had been doing this, she began to wonder if that tug in the back of her mind was related to her. Was Sandra responsible for something that happened earlier? She couldn't help but wonder if she and Snap had an encounter with Sandra, but their minds were messed with to keep them from talking. Well Snap from talking anyway.

Perhaps she was just being paranoid. But her discovery today has given her even more of a reason to be skeptical of Sandra. She had no doubt in her mind that Sandra had done something to them. She was determined to find out.

Suddenly, as she was deep in her thoughts, she heard a loud scream. She nearly jumped back, tumbling over her feet. She raised her head, replaying the scream in her mind. That was Snap. It sounded like he was in pain. Mosaic bolted.

When she arrived in the room, her eyes widened at what she was seeing. A sight that she had become familiar with, yet still shocked her each time she saw it.

Snap had woken up, and he had attempted to walk again. He was on the ground, a look of pure anguish stretched across his face. It was clear that Snap was in too much pain to move. His body shook, and he lifted up his head, staring right towards her. There was no recognition in those eyes, making Mosaic lower her head a bit. More of Sandra's dirty work, she knew.

Despite knowing how dangerous a frightened person can be, Mosaic remained calm and relaxed. She knew that if she acted nervous or hostile, that aura would reflect on the zoner, and she would only make things worse. She had to show him she was not a killer, nor did she plan on preying on him. She kept a neutral posture and walked slowly towards him. She kept her gaze averted. A strong gaze in a time like this could be disasterous. She did not want to trigger Snap's instincts to fight back.

Mosaic soon reached Snap. He let out a cry of fear and tried to scramble back. He winced as he hit one of his burned legs in the process. Mosaic kept her eyes soft, her pupils relaxed. She moved in as close as she could, trying to keep up with Snap. She brushed her long snout against his face, careful not to hurt him with her teeth.

A silent way of telling him she was not going to hurt him.

Snap appeared to get the message. As he realized, slowly, that she had no intention on harming him, he began to relax. Mosaic could smell his anxiety start to go away a little. Snap's breathing became more under control, and he reached up and touched her on her head. Though Mosaic liked it, she needed to take action first.

Mosaic pushed her snout underneath Snap's body, helping him crawl onto her back. She waited until he was completely on her before she climbed into the bed. She shifted herself, letting Snap slide off of her. Snap now laid down on his side. She turned her body around and used her snout to push him so he was on his back. Makes it easier for him to breathe. She then grabbed the blanket with her teeth and pulled it over Snap's body.

Snap looked up at her. He did not speak. He made no sound. He just looked at her. She recogized that expression shining in his eyes. He was grateful, like he always was whenever she helped him back into bed.

She heard the sound of footsteps. She shifted her head, looking over as she detected shadows moving on the ground. Someone was coming. She took in a few sniffs, detecting the scents. When she realized that it was not Sandra, she relaxed herself.

One of the medicine givers arrived in the room. One of the females. Her scent gave her gender away. The medicine giver stayed in the doorway, looking at the scene. She had a tired expression on her face, likely due to working so hard.

"Oh...you got it." Even her voice sounded tired and weak. "Good."

With that, the medicine giver walked away, leaving Mosaic alone with Snap. She watched as she left. She gave the medicine giver no second thoughts as she turned and laid down next to Snap. She curled up beside him, pressing her body close, wanting to keep him calm so his racing heart did not complicate things.

She did not need to look over to know that Snap was settling back into sleep once more. She could hear his heart rate slowing down. She could feel his breaths returning to normal. She could no longer scent any tension or anxiety on him. Satisfied that he had calmed down and was going back to sleep, Mosaic rested her head, pressing the side of her snout against Snap's body as she attempted to relax herself.

She wasn't sure if she could relax, though. She was too shaken up by what she had discovered. Her mind swirled with thoughts relating to those smells she had detected. None of the medicine zoners noticed due to their noses being too weak. How would they ever figure it out if she couldn't outright tell them?

What of Sandra? What was she going to do if she found out that she knew the truth? She had her doubts that Sandra would just let it go that easily. Sandra might figure out what she knew and go from there. Unlike the medicine givers, well most of them that is, Sandra likely had a pretty good sense of smell. That meant that she may detect if she was upset about something. And if she came into the room, Mosaic knew she couldn't control her instincts that well. The fear and dread of what she might do would prompt her to go into defensive mode. She would give herself away.

Her best chance was if she figured out a way to tell Rudy, Penny, and Mint whenever they would come to visit their friend. She had no idea when they would arrive, however. Soon, but she did not have as strong a concept of time as these other zoners appeared to. To her, there was no strong distinction between a minute, an hour, and such forth.

She would just have to be patient and wait for them. She would figure out some way to communicate with them. It was important that she came up with a way that they would understand. Doing so would be difficult, but she knew it was possible. Language barriers weren't always so impossible to cross.

She could think more about this after some sleep, though. She was still mentally exhausted from her discoveries. Sometimes sleeping helped her head to clear, enabling her to think better after she woke up. Yes, sleep would do her wonders. After she woke up, she could continue to think about something to help her tell Rudy and his friends what was going on. Perhaps something would hit her in her dreams.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and went to sleep.

sss

"Gawd dammit!" Taima snarled. The stick figure zoner curled his fingers into fists, shaking them. "It just isn't fair!"

Taima tensed up his leg muscles. He lifted it off the ground. With rage powering through his body, he focused it on the object in front of him. The only thing he could take his anger out on. A small rock just laying in the middle of his cell. He watched it clang across the ground as he seethed.

But the real target of his rage was not that stupid rock, nor any of the inmates he could hear all around him, some having been from the mob he had been a part of. No, the real target was that wretched Snap.

He still couldn't believe that the cops hadn't arrested him. He couldn't believe that he and the others were the ones who went to jail instead. That was just...backwards and completely unfair. They weren't the ones who murdered many a zoner. They weren't the ones who had lied and decieved everyone just to get out of jail.

It had been Snap. Now that fiend was relaxing in his bed in the hospital while they all rotted and suffered. He bet the little runt was enjoying it, too. He was probably sitting there, praising himself for a job well done. The thought filled him with burning rage.

Somehow, someway, Snap had to get what was coming to him. Taima didn't care how. He wanted to see that rotten little bastard in jail. He wanted to see him pay for his cries. He wanted closure for his sister. He wanted Galena to be avenged.

He could only imagine what her final moments were like... He sniffled, tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't begin to imagine the amount of pain she suffered when Snap set off the bombs. And to know that beast, the one who stole his sister from him, who deprived others of their loved ones, was basically free, just sitting around in some hospital... It made him realize just how cruel life can be.

Well that was going to change soon. Taima didn't know how, but a part of him held onto the believe that justice would come crawling to Snap. He was certain that someone would see through Snap's lies, and throw the fucker in jail where he belonged.

He hoped that Snap would be his new cellmate. He wanted that bastard in here with him. He was taller and stronger than Snap, and without his precious weapons, the little runt stood no chance. He would teach Snap a lesson he would never forget.

Taima slammed his fists together in emphasize. Oh yes, he would make sure Snap never thought of hurting anyone ever again.


	16. Arrest

I'm going down in flames. I'm falling into this again!

-Going Down In Flames, 3 Doors Down

sss

Sandra felt her ears twitching as she heard the conversations of her customers floating to them. She would have tried to ignore them, but what they were saying intrigued her.

"Can you believe that Snap? Lying to everyone just so he can skip out on jailtime."

"Yeah. I heard that a bunch of zoners had been arrested when they attempted to call him out on it."

"I wonder if anyone is going to do something about him soon."

"I hope so. It's a sad day when people like him get away with such horrendeous actions."

Sandra felt a mixture of emotions well up inside of her. She did her best to keep a straight face. She did not want to draw attention to herself. She did her best not to look at the zoners speaking. She tried to keep her ears in check, twitching them as little as possible as information that caught her attention continued to be spilled out.

She felt a sense of pride that her plan had been going so smoothly lately. The fact that these zoners in her restaurant were beginning to talk badly about Snap meant that her plan was working. She had wanted to make the zoners turn against Snap. She couldn't think of any better way to assure that Snap truly felt sorry for all he had done to her. She promised to make him pay and she was fulfilling that statement.

She wanted to strike him where it would hurt him the most so he would get an idea of how she had felt when he destroyed her machine. She knew how social of a zoner he was, so she decided to strike him in the heart. By turning zoners who once loved him against him, he would understand just what it feels like to be hurt.

She could see the results of this herself whenever she visited him. The little zoner was absolutely distraught with the charges being put against him. While she hadn't predicted or expected zoners to come crowding around like that, the fact that they were beginning to think he was the cause was part of the plan.

She had to admit, this game had been pretty fun. She felt a sense of adrenaline rushing through her body as she played with Snap's psyche for the past several days. She was beginning to enjoy messing with him. This kind of excitement, she had never felt before. It was almost like she was drunk on excitement. She wasn't sure if that was the right terminology, but it was the closest to how she felt. She could feel her body start to shake a little anticipating what the next move was going to be like.

Still, she felt bad about doing this to him. She felt even worse knowing that she was starting to like this. She licked her lips nervously. She found it a bit difficult to focus on her customers, her mind becoming a little crowded with thoughts regarding Snap.

Perhaps today should be the day she'll pull the plug on it, and proceed with the final step. It had been a couple days since she last saw Snap. She had screwed around with him too much, hadn't she? Yeah, she should quit before this became a habit.

"Hello? Aren't you going to take my order?"

Sandra shook her head, snapping herself back to reality, when she heard a disgruntled customer call out to her. She realized that there was a small line in front of her register. She must have dozed a little. She gave a nervous grin as she raised up her finger to begin pressing the buttons on her register.

"May I take your order?" Sandra asked as politely as she could.

The male zoner, who had made that statement earlier, wrinkled his nose in disgust. She could see his hands forming into fists and his body was shaking. It made Sandra wonder just how long she had kept him waiting.

"No! Gawd is this the kind of service that's around here?!" The zoner snarled at her. He turned around in a huff, a grunt escaping his throat. "I'm outta here! I'm going to Charlie's Steakhouse. I hear he doesn't leave his customers hanging!"

Sandra lowered her ears as she watched the man leave. She bit her lip, mentally scolding herself for getting so hung up on Snap that she ended up neglecting her customers. For this, she couldn't blame Snap, though. It was her own fault.

The next customer after him came forward. He wore a somewhat annoyed expression, but he didn't seem anywhere near as angry as the last guy. Sandra did not say anything this time. She was afraid she might accidentally provoke this zoner into saying something nasty.

The zoner spoke up almost immediately. "I have to apologize for my buddy. He isn't in a good mood lately. He lost his friend in that explosion Snap caused."

Sandra's eyes widened at this. All of a sudden, the zoner's attitude made sense. He did seem to be rather on edge and easily provoked.

The zoner narrowed his eyes. "But that's not an excuse for how he reacted." He smacked his lips together. "Of course, it would help if you didn't stare off into space like that." He gave a small smile. "Are you thinking about a boyfriend or something?"

"What?" Sandra snapped her head back, her eyes widening.

The zoner chuckled. "Oh I'm just pulling your tail!" He waved a hand dismissively. He looked behind him upon hearing some grumbles. "Well I should probably get to ordering soon."

Sandra nodded her head. "That would be a good idea." She closed her eyes and gave a nervous smile as she rubbed the back of her head. "I don't want anymore incidents like that happening." She turned her attention back to work. She couldn't afford to let herself get distracted again. "What will you have?"

"Hmm...I think I'll go for that new special you have. What was it called again?" The zoner asked.

Sandra smiled. "Oh, the meatloaf? Yeah, I just got that in."

"Is it good?" The zoner asked. This prompted a couple groans behind him, but he ignored them.

With a light-hearted chuckled, Sandra said, "Oh it's to die for!" She spread her hands out in emphasis. "I'm sure you'll really love it!"

"Okay then! Hook me up one!" The zoner said.

Sandra crunched in the total on her machine. She told the zoner the amount that was due. She reached out and took the money from his hand. She then put it into the machine and told him she would bring it out soon. The rest of the zoners in line who had been waiting moved forward, ready to have their order taken.

Sandra did her best to focus on work from that point on. She did not want to upset her customers. That would not be a smart move, especially since a few small rumors could culminate in something much bigger. She was already aware that the one zoner who just walked out could spread bad word of her restaurant and she was formulating in her head how to counteract that if need be.

She would figure out something for Snap later on, when she didn't have as many customers to take care of. A couple hours should do it. She just hoped that she would have enough time to really think about something to do regarding Snap, preferably before the day was over.

Yes, so soon, everything was going to fall into place. She would get what she had came for, and then everything would go back to the way they used to be.

sss

Sandra felt a little exhausted. Today had been a busier day than she had expected. It was around noon now. She had been working almost nonstop for the past couple of hours. She had been hoping for a break for some time. She couldn't believe how much business she got after the small group from before. Not ten minutes later, there was a whole line, and while that boosted her confidence for her restaurant's success, it did mean extra work for her.

She could hardly focus on anything except work during that time. Zoner after zoner came in, wanting some kind of meal from her. She had to keep rushing back and forth, cooking up everything, preparing the meals, getting everything out. It was times like these that she wished she had extra help.

Perhaps Snap could help her after his punishment was over. He would probably bounce back quickly from this, well at least when she explained why it was done. Once he understood, he should make a quick recovery. Perhaps he could work in the kitchen and help cook the food at a faster, more efficient rate. Or maybe he could be a waiter of some kind. He might be small, but he can get around pretty fast. Yes, a waiter may be a perfect job for him.

Now that the rush was over and she was now relaxing in one of her own seats, she could begin to think about what she was going to do with Snap. She took a moment to look around, ensuring that no one else was coming to the restaurant. Even after she could confirm no one was coming, that could easily change rather quickly. Keeping a cautious eye on the door, she began to think to herself what she was going to do.

She knew that Snap suffered quite a long time at this point. The explosion she had meticulously set off happened weeks ago by this point. Three weeks perhaps? Snap's legs, from what she recalled, were still causing him pain to this day. This had been unintentional; she had no idea the fire would hurt him that much.

But he should be fine pretty soon. Perhaps now he could even begin to walk more. He had been using a cane from what she recalled, and by now, it probably got a lot easier for him to use. She was glad for that. Some recovery would definitely do that zoner some good.

She had been overall pleased with the results of her punishment. Snap had reacted just the way she had hoped he would. He was in emotional distraught, so once his memories were given back, he would understand that he had done wrong. He was in that state of mine that, once he remembered, he would regret what he had done. That was the effect that she wanted from him. She wanted him to understand the heavy weight of his crime against her.

She was also pleased with how the zoners were reacting. They had been a key part of her plan. Turning them against Snap had been a very painful thing for her to do, both for her and for Snap. But it was one of the most pleasing and exciting parts of her playtime with him. She never felt more alive than she did at this very moment.

She did not want to drag this on, however. She was beginning a little afraid of herself. She realized she was feeling a little too happy for how she had been treating Snap. Even now, a part of her wanted to continue with this. She wanted to make Snap endure more of this because of how it was making her feel. She felt a sense of excitement, something she wasn't exactly proud of. She feared she could begin to take this too far, more so than was really necessary.

She would have to get this stopped. It was time to begin the final part of the plan. This would signal the end of the punishment. There was still more for Snap to endure first. She was not quite done with him yet. She did not feel he suffered enough for what he did to her.

The good news, however, is that it would be all over after ths. Snap would be let go, or so she hoped. She would have to figure out a way to ensure that Snap would be let go after this was all over. She wanted to see Snap back on the streets, without fear of being assaulted by the other zoners. Admittingly, she wasn't entirely sure how she was going to go about this. But she would think of something soon.

Sandra took one look around her restraunt, ensuring that no one else was coming. She decided to take advantage of this momentary pause in her business. She got up from her seat and quickly made her way towards the back.

She walked down the tunnel, moving past her kitchen. She kept going until she reached the next room, which was on the opposite side. She opened the door and entered inside. She shut the door, even though she had little reason to worry about anyone eavesdropping on her.

The room was a small office area. She didn't use it for much and was usually only in here after hours. She looked around until she found what she was looking for. A small phone laid on the round desk in the middle of the room, hidden among some of the scattered papers and stray pens. She grumbled to herself. She really needed to figure out a way to have this place cleaned up.

She moved forward, staring intently at the phone. She licked her lips a little, trying to think of what she was going to say. A part of her wished she did not have to make a call, and instead write a letter. But sadly, a letter was going to be much harder to pull off fast enough. She needed to get this step started now.

She reached forward and grabbed onto the phone. It was one of the old timey phones, with wires attaching it in one piece, and physical, tactile buttons that needed some force to be pressed on. She lifted it up and held it to her ear. She reached down to begin dialing a number.

She rehearsed what she was going to say in her mind. She had to make sure she said the right thing, or this was not going to work. She wasn't sure what was going to happen if she screwed this up.

Her task now was to get Snap arrested. That was the last part of the plan. It wasn't going to be anything major or eventful. A part of her even considered skipping this part. But she felt that Snap needed this in order for everything to really sink in. She didn't feel all her work would be as effective if she removed this from her little plans.

A trip to the prison would do him some good. It didn't really hurt anyone to spend a little time there, to get a more complete understanding of what happens to zoners who do wrong. She was doing this for Snap's own good.

He was not going to be in there that long, anyway. She already had it figured out how she could get him out in a couple of days. She would ensure that any murder charges against him were dropped, and she would confess to being the one who did it. But she was no worried about what would happen. She already knew the outcome.

Like Snap, the zoners would be rather understanding. Sure, it was a shame that many zoners had to die. But when it comes to teaching important lessons, and keeping promises, anything was worth the sacrifice. The zoners died for a good cause. The zoners would agree on that.

She began to dial the number. She could hear it ringing. She leaned against her desk, waiting for someone to pick up. It didn't take long for her to hear the familiar clicking sound, and the ringing to stop, replaced by heavy breathing.

"Hello, police department." A dark voice spoke. "State your business."

Sandra opened her mouth to speak. This was it. This was the beginning of the end. For the punishment that is. This was the moment she had been waiting for. After this, she could begin to wind things down, and then it would all be over.

But she paused. She couldn't stop the sensation of disappointment from rushing through her body. She felt her stomach stinging her. She bit her lip, looking left and right. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to feel a little sad once this was over. She hadn't had this much fun in her life since...well never.

The rush, the adrenaline, the excitement, the energy... She was sad that it was soon going to come to a stop. She was about to pull the plug, and begin the descent down, the preparation to conclude this little plan of hers.

Then she stopped and really thought about it. An unexpected thought entered her mind.

Did it really have to end?

Well sure it did. She couldn't keep this up forever. She knew there were limitations to this. If she wasn't careful, she could end up making things worse than she intended. The zoners were already calling out for Snap's blood Killing the zoner was never her intention.

Well that wasn't entirely true. She did feel that it would be necessary to go that far should Snap not learn his lesson enough. And at this point, it was really hard to say. A part of her felt he learned his lesson, but another part didn't think he was getting the memo. At least it wouldn't be all that bad. She did have something planned for him in case she did have to kill him. She would ensure that it wouldn't be a waste.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Sandra shook her head. She realized she had dozed off again. "Y-Yeah.."

"Look, either state what you want, or hang up." The zoner said bitterly. "I do not have time to play games with you."

Sandra nodded her head, despite the fact that the zoner could not see her. She bit her lip, trying to think of what she was going to say. She knew she had to speak the words to begin to end this. She had to stop this, and allow Snap a chance to get out of his current state.

But then...who said she couldn't still have a little fun with this? She had been enjoying her little game. More than she had expected. But she couldn't deny how much fun this had been. Did she really have to end it so quickly? Perhaps she could get some enjoyment out of this as well. There was still time to mess with Snap a little more. And with this new idea pushed into her plan, Snap would never forget what happened. This lesson would be with him for a long time.

A small smile spread across her muzzle. She gave a light-hearted chuckle. She wondered if she was freaking out the cop on the other end. At the moment, she did not care. Playtime with her friend was about to continue.

She decided that the game was not over just yet. There was still more she coudl do beforehand. And this would lead up into the next part of her plan anyway.

It had been a lot of fun convincing the zoners that Snap caused the explosion. She had no idea that she was going to succeed to this degree. It was all so exciting and she never felt so much adrenaline in her body. She could prolong it a little longer. She could do a little more with Snap. It would further drive the point home, and it would grant her a bit more excitement.

And she knew exactly how she was going to accomplish that.

With a grin growing on her face, she said, "I have something of dire emergency to report..."

sss

Snap opened up his eyes. He yawned softly as he stared up the ceiling. He didn't bother getting up right away. He was too tired to really want to move right now. It felt as though he had been sleeping for days, although he knew that was an exaggeration.

He took a look around and realized he was in a hospital. But this time, he did not react out of fear. Instead, he was rather calm. This time, he had some memories. Not a lot, but he could somewhat remember that he had been in a hospital for a while. He wasn't sure what exactly for, but he recalled enough that he didn't freak out when he realized where he was.

But despite his relaxation, something was bugging him in the back of his mind.

Why didn't he remember anything? He wondered if it had to do with him being in the hospital. Did he get some kind of head injury that prevented him from remembering? It was quite possible. If that were the case, he could just talk to Rudy, Penny, and Mint if they decided to come visit him today. No, he knew they would. It was just a matter of time.

He had a sneaking suspicion that a lot had been going on lately. He wasn't sure what made him think that, what gave it away. It was just...something about the aura around him told him that something big was coming.

But what? He had no clue. He wished he could remember. He did his best not to let any fear grip him, though. He knew it was not going to do him much good to freak out. He had to stay calm and relaxed so he could think clearly on this.

Perhaps one of the doctors could tell him if they came by his room soon. Yeah they might have an idea. After all, they are doctors. It is their job to check the physical conditions of their patients. If anyone knew what was wrong, they would. He didn't know when one of them would show up. So he made a mental note to himself to ask. He hoped he would remember.

He shifted himself a little to get more comfortable. That was when he felt something he did not expect. Some kind of weight not far from him. He turned his head and his eyes widened slightly when he noticed a crocodile zoner not too far away from him.

The crocodile zoner lifted up its head and looked over at him. They locked eyes for several seconds. Snap remained still, unsure of what to make of this. The croc zoner stared at him and then opened up its jaws. Snap was about to cringe back when he realized that it wasn't trying to attack him, and instead was just yawning. The croc zoner soon laid its head back down, and resumed sleeping.

Snap felt his heart calm down. He took in a deep breath and sighed. It was clear the croc zoner had no intentions of actually hurting him. When he realized he was in no danger, he relaxed and laid back down.

He wondered how his friends were doing. He hoped that his condition was not worrying them too much. He didn't want to scare his friends like this. A part of him would feel bad if he found out they had been worried sick for weeks or something, trying to help him only for him to forget almost everything the next day. But he knew, deep down, they would not blame him for it. They were helping him because they wanted to. He knew there was no shame in accepting their help.

Still, he hoped that this condition of his would end soon. He wasn't sure how long he had been like this. He didn't remember that much. But he did hope that someone, somewhere, would figure out why he kept forgetting and put an end to it. He didn't want to be in the hospital for the rest of his life. He wanted to get up and run around with his friends. He wanted to go back to exploriating. It felt like he hadn't done that in a long time.

But who knows when that would happen? Or if at all? He felt his heart sting at that. He tried to relax, but he couldn't stop some of the anxiety from growing up inside of him. He didn't want to think that this was permanent, but..what if it was? What kind of life could he lead like this?

And what if his friends? What would they think? He didn't doubt that they'd continue visiting him. But what kind of toll would this have of them? It was bad enough that he was suffering for it. Did his friends need to be included as well? He wished that he could spare them that fate somehow. If he was going to take a long time to heal, or not at all, he hoped that, somehow, his friends would not have to be tormented so mentally. They didn't deserve it.

He sat up in the bed. His movement caused the crocodile zoner to shift and look towards him. He gave her a small, apologetic smile. He hadn't meant to stir her like that. He looked away, returning to his thoughts.

He had a feeling that, even if he could remember why he was in the hospital, it wasn't going to do him a lot of good. He couldn't help but feel as though something big had went down. He wished he could remember it. Even if he did, though, he knew he would need a lot more to figure out what happened.

And why did he get the nagging feeling something was wrong? He could sense it in the air, all around him. As he gazed up towards the ceiling, he couldn't help but wonder if something major went down. Something bigger than him simply getting amnesia. It felt as though...something terrifying had happened...

Or perhaps he was just overreacting. It was possible that he was making a mountain out of a molehill. He did not see any evidence of such a terrible event. Yet...he did not see anything that told him otherwise...

Well, he would figure it out sooner or later. He can just sit here and wait for at least one of his friends to show up. They would know what happened to him, he was certain. He deduced he was in an accident, but exactly what kind of accident, he wasn't certain. And one thing that worried him was..what if this was done on purpose...?

Snap didn't remember enough to really know anyone who would target him. Well outside of Skrawl, but that creepazoid was doing hard time for his crimes. Well..he'll probably escape..but he was not subtle in his attacks and would actually be insulted if Snap couldn't remember. There was also Jacko and Craniac 4, but he had his doubts.

The only possibility was that it was someone new. But if that were the case...just what did he do to draw nasty, unwanted attention, if he really had been attacked? He couldn't think of anything he did to...

Wait a minute...

There was something. It took him a little while to think about it. It took some time for his mind's gears to turn, reminding him of something quite important. He couldn't believe he almost forgot about this.

The machine. The signal that came from the machine. He remembered, not long after he was at Sandra's restaurant, he had helped his friends stop Skrawl, and he had destroyed this machine that was afflicting zoners. It was sometime after that...he was certain that it was quite possible that the zoner responsible for the machine had done this to him.

Yeah, that sounded about right. Even though he could not remember, likely due to whatever injuries he had recieved, this thought of his seemed rather credible. Maybe his friends would agree. Maybe they would know it to be true. The only way to find out was to ask them. He hoped they would arrive soon.

Snap then began to wonder about Sandra. Had she visited him? Of course she had. They weren't the closest of friends, but she did care enough about him to come see him in his time of need. Did she know what happened to him? Would she have been told? Quite possible, especially if what happened to him was far bigger than what he had initially suspected it would be. He hoped to get a visit from her soon.

With that explosion he unintentionally caused, with that odd signal that hacked zoner minds, he wondered how Sandra was dealing with it all. She was probably taking it all in great stride. She seemed like the kind of zoner to just deal with things thrown in her direction, not letting them bother her for long.

He wished he could be a bit more like that. The memories of that explosion that nearly took him with him, and of the signal that he and his friends tried to investigate, it all left him feeling a little shaken. He could feel a cold sensation sweeping in from all around him. He hoped that the others were doing better than he was. He didn't want everyone to be in the grip of terror.

Well he was certain that it would all work out in the end. He didn't know exactly when or how, but he had a feeling that, so long as they all kept trying hard, doing whatever they had been doing for the past..who knows how long he had been here, to figure out what had went on. His friends probably figured a lot of things out by now. He wouldn't be surprised if, whenever they came over, they had a myriad of stuff to tell him, and how it would take them a while to explain everything to him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard some footsteps coming down the hallway. He looked towards the door, which was closed at the moment. He could see some small bits of shadow on the floor as somene walked passed his room. Realizing that this zoner wasn't coming for him, he laid himself back down, deciding it was time to rest some more.

He didn't get very far. His attempts at sleep were suddenly interrupted as a loud banging sound could be heard. He nearly jolted out of his bed. He looked over to see what was going on.

He could see the door wobbling on its hinge. Something was pushing against the door. He couldn't hear any shouting. Just pounding and banging. He felt his body stiffen up. A cold dread washed through him as he stared at the door, unwilling to look away. His eyes bulged as the door seemed to break a little away from the hinge, bending inward.

Many questions ran through his mind. What was going on here? Who was banging the door? What were their intentions? Were they going to do with him? Should he be afraid? What was going to...

He couldn't finish his last thought when the door was suddenly knocked open. Snap watched, wide-eyed, as a small group of zoners rushed into the room. He noticed one of them appeared to be a doctor of some kind. A humanoid husky. The others were all cops. And they were all glaring at him.

Snap bit his lip, wondering what was going on. Why were they all staring at him like this? Why did the doctor bring in cops? What was going on here?

His confusion was further complicated by the fact that the croc zoner had gotten up and was now growling at them. He could hear its low hisses and faint snarls, its gaze fixated on the zoners in front of him. He didn't know if this meant they were dangerous, perhaps in disguise, or if it was just simple reflex, or even something else. Snap wished he could remember more so he could make better sense of it all.

At first, the zoners that barged into his hospital room did not say anything. They just simply glared at him, and he could sense a level of hatred that he did not get even from Skrawl. This realization made him swallow hard. This was most certainly not a good sign. Just what had happened a few days ago or whenever?

"Snap White..." Said what appeared to be the chief of the group of cops that came in.

Snap did not answer. He was afraid to. He couldn't stop his body from shaking. Many thoughts swirled through his head as he tried to make sense of what was going on. He could feel his heart racing in his chest. These zoners were clearly made at him for something, and what terrified him the most wasn't the probabilities of what he did, but the fact that he could not even remember what it was.

"O-Officer..." Snap started to say. He was immediately cut off.

"You are coming with us." The officer said, his piercing eyes practically staring into Snap's soul.

"What...?" Snap whispered under his breath. The croc zoner's growling echoed in his head, further adding tension to the room.

The husky doctor gave a light chuckle. He looked over at the croc zoner, taking a few steps towards it. "Easy, girl. At ease. You do not need to worry." His voice was rather calm, but Snap could detect something..off about it. He couldn't quite put his hand on it. "Mosaic, this is not of your concern anymore. Now settle down."

But Mosaic did not settle down. Snap looked at her, confused. Was she assigned to protect him? That would explain her behavior...but then why was she reacting this way towards one of the doctors? Wasn't she with them? How else would the doctor zoner know her? He didn't have time to dwell on those thoughts when Mosaic suddenly lunged towards the husky zoner.

Snap's eyes widened in shock. Judging from the reaction of the cops and doctor, they did not expect it either. They all took a step back. Well except for the husky, who merely got into a defensive posture. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the incoming reptile zoner with intent shining in his eyes.

When the croc zoner got close enough, he grabbed her by the neck and forced her against the wall. The croc zoner squirmed in his grasp, her tail thrashing from side to side. Snap worried that the husky would harm her, but to his delight, he did not do anything except hold her. He glared at her intently, but made no move to actually harm her.

"You are acting way out of line, Mosaic. It is not your place to decide what happens to the patients. If you have any mind in there at all, you would know this." The husky zoner said.

Mosaic growled at this, but she said nothing. Snap wasn't sure if it was because she couldn't speak, or if she simply had nothing to say. A grunt from one of the cops caused him to shift his attention back to them.

The chief walked over towards him. Snap felt his anxiety rise as the cop came closer and closer. He didn't like the way any of the zoners were looking at him, and the way this zoner was approaching him made him think that perhaps now would be a good time to get away. Yet he remained frozen, the zoner's eyes filling him with too much fear for him to move affectively.

"Well? Come along now. We don't have much time waste here." The chief zoner said. He folded his arms against his chest, glaring at Snap. "Get out of bed. Now."

"That might not be possible for him." The husky zoner said. There was no tone of sympathy in his voice. It was all just matter-of-factly. "His legs were burned and they're still healing."

Snap's eyes widened at this. His legs were damaged? It was in that moment that he suddenly could detect pain crawling up his legs. He let out a small whimper, flinching as he felt a couple sharp jabs in his damaged limbs. He felt a sense of fear rise up inside of him. Just what had happened to his legs to damage them in this manner?

The chief zoner scoffed at this. "Well then, I'll just take care of it myself."

Snap cringed as the zoner came towards him. Even though he knew it was not a smart idea to resist the police, he ended up cringing away, holding up his hand in self defense. He bared his teeth at the cop, unconsciously letting out a low growl, as if that would scare him away.

But no surprise, his actions did not stop the cop zoner. If anything, his growling only made him angrier. He gritted his teeth at him, and Snap could detect hostility in the air rising. Realizing that tensions were rising up, out of desperation, Snap turned and attempted to get away.

He didn't get far with his damaged legs. He could only crawl part way over the bed when the cop zoner seized himby his cape, which, for some reason, he was still wearing. He shut his eyes as he felt himself being lifted up into the air, levitated off the ground as if he were just some stray cat or dog that they had found. He attempted to struggle for a few seconds, but it quickly proved to be useless. Soon he just dangled here, staring at the cop zoner in fear.

"As I said, you are coming with us." The chief said. At this, the other cops nodded their heads, a few of them emitting low growls of anger. Snap just stared at him, confusion as well as fear prominent on his face. "Don't you dare try to lie to us. We know what you've been doing."

"Yeah, Snap." The husky zoner said. He was still holding onto Mosaic, keeping him pinned. "We know that you have been faking your amnesia so that we woud all think that you weren't responsible for the deaths of those zoners."

"What?!" Snap spluttered.

What were they talking about? He would never do something like that. How could they even think that he was responsible? Since when had he done anything remotely dangerous to any zoner? Since when had he done something to make the zoners believe that he would harm them like this?

Something wasn't right here. Something was making these zoners think he had done something horrible. How could they have been so fooled? His amnesia...whatever had given him amnesia..that must be why these zoners were acting this way. That culprit, the one responsible for the machine, and the strange signal they learned about.. They were the ones who were doing this to him. They were fooling the zoners into believing that he was the bad guy. He had to try to prove to them that they were mistaken.

But could he succeed? With how angry they looked, he had a feeling that they were not in the mood to talk. Still, he had to try. It wouldn't hurt anything to try and speak to them, right?

He cleared his throat and opened his mouth. Here goes nothing.

"I understand how you must feel. But I didn't kill anyone." Snap said. He cringed when he heard the chief zoner growl at him. "I'm telling the truth, honest. I'm just as confused as you guys are." He raised his shoulders up, indicating his confusion.

This did little to change the expressions on the zoners' faces. If anything, all his statement did was make them angrier. They bared their teeth at him, grinding them from side to side. He cringed back, gritting his teeth in self defense. He raised up his hands, fearing that one of them was going to strike him. They seemed angry enough to do that.

The chief zoner narrowed his eyes into slits. "There's been a new murder, and we know you are responsible."

Snap shook in several quick breaths. "But..but I've been here this whole time!"

"Oh really?" The chief zoner said coldly, tilting his head to the side. "Then..where were you a couple of hours ago then? Are you trying to tell me that you were in here, sleeping?"

Snap nodded his head. He turned his head away, gritting his teeth as the zoner snorted in his face. "I-It's true. I did not leave this room. I was sleeping. I couldn't have..."

"A likely story." The husky doctor growled at him.

"I'm going to handle this." The chief zoner glared at the doctor zoner, causing him to back down. The chief zoner then turned his attention to Snap. "I think it's best if you admit the truth, Snap. We have evidence that proves that you are responsible for the loss of a few zoners down in the surgery department of this hospital."

"You may not have appeared on the camera, but you left a damn good piece of evidence behind." One of the cops said.

Another nodded his head. "You might have gotten away with it if you hadn't been so sloppy and careless."

Snap didn't know what they were talking about. He could feel himself breathing in quicker as he tried to make sense of it all. The idea of being blamed for murder...it was terrifying. He couldn't think of how anyone could think that of him. He couldn't even think of one zoner who would blame him for something like that. Not even Skrawl seemed like the kind of zoner who would believe that he would bring harm to another deliberately.

When the jellybean entered his head, he wondered if he was the one responsible. He remembered that the evil, mishapen zoner had attempted to be more quiet about his plans when he had recruited Mint. If he continued on with this, maybe it was possible that he truly was responsible.

But even if that were the case, or if it was something else, there was little he could do about it right now. These zoners intended on taking him somewhere, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.

"What...what did you find...?" Snap managed to say.

"Oh come on. You really don't know?" One of the cops said, her voice laced in sarcasm. The others tried to speak, but a quick glare from the chief zoner shut her and all the other cops up.

The chief zoner glared at Snap in the eyes. He remained like this for a while, causing Snap's body to shiver from fear. "A piece of your clothing was found at the scene of the crime."

Snap couldn't believe what he heard. Was this zoner insane? It couldn't be his clothing. It..it had to be someone else's. It just had to. He wouldn't do something like this. He wouldn't deliberately harm anyone. He would never kill someone. The clothing they found..it wasn't his. He was stuck in this room. If what the doctor zoner said was true, then how could he have snuck out, kill someone, and come back without being caught then?

"That..that is impossible.." Snap breathed. He let out a cry of pain as the chief zoner shook him.

"Are you calling me a liar? I know what I saw. I know what the results said." The chief zoner snarled at him. Snap didn't even bother to try asking him what he was talking about. He just stared at him in fear. "We all know it came from you... We all know you are responsible for the deaths of all those zoners..."

"You did a good job of hiding it for so long. Even I began to wonder if I was incorrect." The husky zoner said. "But I see that I was right. It was a good thing I took over your case. That softy Dr. Crobat would have fought for your sake. But me..." He placed a hand against his upper chest. "I am going to make sure you get what's coming to you."

"Shut it." The chief zoner said in a low growl. The husky zoner lowered his ears and backed away a little. The chief zoner turned his attention back to Snap. "You will have plenty of time to try to defend yourself during your trial."

"I didn't do anything!" Snap cried, panic racing through his heart. "You've got to believe me!"

The chief zoner gave a bitter chuckle. "We will let the judge decide that..now shall we...?" Without warning, the chief zoner thrust Snap onto his stomach, uncaring of how hard he had hit him. Snap winced as he felt his arms being pulled back behind him, and he could hear the sound of handcuffs being opened. "Snap, I hereby place you under arrest."

"What?!" Snap cried, cold terror rushing through his body. He turned his head, and with one eye, he could see the other cops narrowing their eyes at him, and the doctor zoner had a sneer on his face, looking a bit too delighted with his arrest. "You can't do this!"

"I can, and I will." The chief zoner said bitterly. Snap let out a cry as the cuffs pinched his skin, the cold metal clanging against his wrists. "Now come along..."

Snap could do nothing as the chief zoner began to carry him out. As they headed down the hallway, and they rushed past a hallway mirror, Snap took a look and he noticed something wrong. His eyes realized when he came to realize what it was.

A part of his cape had been torn off.

sss

Sandra waited a while before she came back to the hospital. She wanted to give her plan some time to go into fruition before she went to see just how it all turned out.

It hadn't been easy. Sneaking into the hospital without anyone noticing her hadn't been easy. She was grateful that her machine was working splendidly now. She didn't think she could have done it without that machine. With it, she was able to pull off the stunt that would ensure that Snap would indeed go to jail. She had fun and the plan was going to come to a close soon.

And of course, her actions would certainly benefit her restaraunt. No doubt, she would be getting more customers after this. She now had the means of being able to create a couple new dishes. She wasn't sure exactly what she was going to do, however, so she didn't dwell on that at the moment.

For now, she wanted to go into the hospital to make sure Snap was arrested. She had set him up quite well, and oh how exciting it was. It was almost like playing a game of tag or something. Well okay that was an odd comparison. Still, it was sort of how she felt.

It didn't take her long to reach the hospital. She paused and looked around. She could detect some unfamiliar smells. The police perhaps? Maybe. It was hard for her to tell. She kept walking forward, heading straight towards the hospital. She hoped that her plan worked. If not, she was going to have to try something harsher in order to succeed. Sure, she might seem a bit nasty, but all she was doing was dishing out some tough love. Snap needed to learn his lesson.

She soon entered the hospital and she walked to where Snap's room was. She moved slowly, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. The hospital didn't really seem to pay much attention to her. She guessed that they were worried about how Snap had broken into parts of the building without being detected. She chuckled softly to herself. There was no way they were going to figure any of that out.

Reaching Snap's room was a piece of cake. She stopped in front of it, staring at it intently. She could smell something here. Strong. Multiple sources. Maybe Snap had been arrested after all. But she had to make sure before she could leave.

She got the door open and went inside. Much to her delight, Snap was not present. She walked in further, raising her head, turning it from side to side as she detected the smells. She could detect some anger, some fear, and multiple different scents. Yes, something had happened here. And if she were to take into account the different emotions she could smell, yes, Snap most likely had been arrested.

She smiled at this. She was glad that she didn't have to resort to something more extreme to get the job done. Yes, a few more lost zoners was a shame. But it was all going to be worth it in the end.

Before Sandra could leave, she could hear a low growl. Her ears pricked up at this. She turned her head, trying to find the source. She could see a shadow approaching her. She narrowed her eyes, recognizing the outline of the encroaching zoner. She did not need an unobscured view of the zoner to know exactly who it was.

"...Mosaic..." Sandra growled softly, staring at the crocodile zoner with narrowed eyes. "Fancy seeing you again."

Mosaic continued to growl at Sandra, her tail swishing from side to side. There was some unreadable expression on her face, aside from the clear anger. Sandra didn't bother trying to figure it out, though. Snap was already moved out of the hospital and she really had little reason to know what Mosaic was thinking about. It was too late for her to do anything.

Sandra couldn't help but smirk as she watched the crocodile zoner pace back and forth, not far from her. She wasn't sure if the croc zoner sensed something was wrong with her or what. But she knew that the croc zoner couldn't do anything to her. She had no plans to stay, and the croc zoner was not allowe dto leave the hospital.

She took a couple steps closer. Mosaic let out a low hiss, lowering her body towards the ground and moving back away. Mosaic opened up her mouth, her sharp teeth glinting in the light. She let out a crocodile-like hiss. Sandra just stared at her, wondering if Mosaic was really going to try something. But all she did was take a small step back, making Sandra shake her head.

Sandra thought it was best to leave. She didn't want to stay there that long. Plus Mosaic's presense made her a little nervous. Despite her confidence, she still felt, on some level, Mosaic could do something. Maybe there was something that she missed, and Mosaic could take advantage of that.

But she kept her feet firmly planted on the ground as she and Mosaic stared at each other, almost like they were having some kind of contest. Tension was rising in the room, filling it with a thick, heavy atmosphere. She could feel her body tensing up, preparing for whatever may come.

"You should not worry so much, Mosaic. It's not like Snap is going to suffer forever." Sandra said. At ths, Mosaic's eyes widened and she let out a hiss. "Seems like you're not understanding what was talking about." Sandra took a step forward, holding her hand out in gesture. "I'm just teaching Snap an important lesson. He hurt me, now he must understand the grave consequences of his actions. It will all be over soon, and Snap will be fine. You'll see."

Mosaic's reaction wasn't what she had hoped it would be. The croc zoner glared at her with those piercing eyes, making her unable to turn away. Mosaic took a couple steps forward, opening her long jaws, exposing her razor sharp teeth. She gave a couple snaps, showing Sandra just what her intentions were.

Sandra widened her eyes and she took a couple steps back. Mosaic followed her, quickening up her pace. Sandra, in a desperate attempt to avoid combat, held her hands out in front of her, waving them back and forth. "Look, if you let me explain, then you will..."

Sandra was cut off when Mosaic slammed herself against her.


	17. Visiting Hour In The Prison

The sun goes down. I feel the light betray me.

-Papercut, Linkin Park

sss

Sandra's eyes bulged as she felt the sharp talons from Mosaic cut into her sides. She tried not to scream, knowing full well she could unintentionally draw the attention of one of the doctors. She attempted to push the crocodile zoner back, her hand pressed against her chest. Mosaic opened her jaws and attempted to screech.

Reacting fast, Sandra grabbed onto the mouth, holding it shut tightly. Mosaic let out low, muffled hisses, pulling her head back to try to free herself. The two wrestled with each other on the ground, their tails flying everywhere. During the struggle, her hand still enclosed around Mosaic's long mouth, Sandra began to push herself out from underneath her. She hissed in pain as she accidentally caused the sharp claws to rake her sides, causing warm, red blood to dribble down.

Now she stood back up, her feet sliding on the ground for a brief second as she got into a defensive posture. With Mosaic still in her grasp, she used both hands to lift her up over her head and slam her onto her back. Mosaic squirmed so much that Sandra was forced to let go. She jumped back, nearly tripping over herself, just as Mosaic struck out with her tail, attempting ot knock her over.

Sandra opened her mouth and exposed her sharp teeth, an instinctual attempt to scare off Mosaic. No surprise, it does not work and Mosaic, who was less than a foot away, slammed against her, knocking her back against the wall.

Sandra raised her eyes, visibly flinching. The thud that resulted from the slam was pretty loud and she wondered if any of the doctors heard it. She didn't hear or smell anyone coming, but that didn't mean much. She had to end this fight and get out of here before someone found her in here. Raising up her foot, she placed it against the crocodile's underside and pushed back against her. With enough effort, she was able to knock the animal-like zoner onto her back.

Sandra looked towards the window. She thought about using it, but realized it would be too risky of an attempt. She turned her attention to the door. She couldn't simply run out there, especially if Mosaic tails her. The doctors would wonder why and how such an attack was triggered. If Mosaic was a passive zoner and rarely attacked, then she knew that the situation she was in would be considered suspicious.

She narrowed her eyes as Mosaic came back towards her. Mosaic's body moved from side to side, picking up speed as the seconds passed by. She crouched down and launched herself at her, letting out a loud hiss, intermixing with a gutteral growl.

Sandra raised her foot in response. Her flexible toes spread out, spreading out like fingers. She grabbed onto Mosaic's throat as she was about to collide with her. The crocodile zoner hissed and growled loudly, squirming in the air, tail thrashing around. Sandra narrowed her eyes. At this rate, the doctors would come for certain. She squeezed Mosaic's neck tighter, lifting her up a little more. She stared at her in the eyes. Then she tossed her into the ground, allowing her body to crash against the bed.

She slammed her foot into the ground, her talons tapping against it. She raised her tail up, giving herself a raptor-like posture. As Mosaic struggled up to her feet, Sandra crept in closer. She raised her hands in the air, and as she walked, she deliberately scraped the ground with her long claws. An obvious attempt to scare Mosaic.

The crocodile zoner did not let up so easily. She scrambled up to her feet, knocking back one of the machines, nearly ripping the wires from it in the process, and she charged towards Sandra.

The dragon zoner narrowed her eyes. This croc was starting to become a pest. If this kept up, someone was going to find out for certain. She needed a way to end the fight fast, but it was not going to be easy. She couldn't simply kill the croc. No, that would draw attention to herself. They would find her DNA on her, and know that the marks came from her claws. Likewise, she couldn't leave her in tact, or else she could come after her. And if she wasn't careful, she could risk getting injured by those powerful jaws.

Not wanting to risk injury, and hoping to avoid her last option, Sandra attempted to speak to the croc.

"Relax now. We do not have to fight." Sandra said, her red eyes locking onto Mosaic's amber ones. "I assure you, I do not intend malicious intent. Okay I know that sounded redundant. But you can trust me."

Sandra took a few steps forward. The crocodile zoner merely slammed her tail in to the ground, letting out a loud hiss.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "You are not listening to reason. I have a good mind to do what I am. Snap is merely learning a lesson. He will be out soon. You need not worry. I will undo what I have done." At this, Mosaic's eyes flickered, and Sandra thought she could detect confusion and surprise in them. Smiling at this, she nodded her head. "Why yes, I do admit it. I am the reason Snap cannot remember anything. I am responsible for that explosion. I set the whole thing up."

Mosaic growled at this. If she had fur, it would be raised on end right about now. Sandra had to think fast and jump out of the way to avoid getting hit. She winced as she felt the rush of air, and the thudding sound as Mosaic missed her mark.

Indeed, this zoner was clearly unreasonable. But then, what could she expect from a zoner who was mostly animal? She would not understand higher thinking, nor would she get ulterior motives. It would be a waste of time trying to explain things to her.

Sandra still made another attempt. "I have good reason to do what I am doing. If you stopped and listen to me for just one minute, I think I can convince you of my good intentions."

Mosaic would have none of it. She merely launched herself at Sandra again. This time, the dragon was too slow to react, and she found herself slammed against the wall. She shut her eyes, hissing in pain as the creature pressed her up against the wall. She glared down at the zoner, her eyes flickering in anger. She wrapped her tail around her and pulled her away,

Then, with her tail still wrapped around her, she slammed her into the ground and placed a foot on top of her. Mosaic squirmed, snapping her jaws and trying to speak, if she had such a capability.

Sandra, still holding her down, used her other foot to grab onto her mouth. She forced it onto the ground. She held on tightly as the zoner squirmed underneath her. Mosaic struck out with her feet, trying to scratch her. But though she hit the mark a few times, Sandra refused to let go, not wanting to take the chance of getting herself more hurt. The scratches on her side were still stinging her. She couldn't imagine what a more serious injury would be like.

She realized, in that moment, that Mosaic could not be reasoned with. She could argue all she wanted to. Nothing was going to change this zoner's mind. It was clear that she thought that she was a threat, and was not going to listen to her attempts to justify herself.

So now, there was really only one option left. She didn't want to do this, but Mosaic had given her no other alternative.

Sandra narrowed her eyes down at Mosaic. "This will be my final warning to you. If you decide to mess with me again, I will be forced to utilize a more permanent solution for you." At this, Mosaic, naturally, attempted to kick her off. Sandra put her face close to hers, her eye inches away from the croc's. "And one more thing. I will tell the truth in due time. If not to everyone, then at least to Snap. But if you decide to spell the beans somehow, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life regretting it."

Mosaic's eyes widened at this. Sandra watched as fear flashed across her reptilian face. But then she went back to growling softly at her, as if she wanted to stand up to her. Sandra merely growled softly, unimpressed with Mosaic's attempts at escape.

Sandra flashed her sharp teeth, letting out a low hiss through them. "Do not take my warning lightly, Mosaic." Her ears pressed back against her head, like a canine or feline who was angered. "You will find that, while I am overall an easy-going zoner, cross me, and you will get the horns. Please, do not force me to go that far." Mosaic snarled at her. Sandra shook her head. "Time to end this."

Sandra kept her grip on the zoner. She closed her eyes, and her triangle mark began to glow. Seconds later, Mosaic's eyes bulged and she began to squirm frantically underneath Sandra's weight. It didn't take long for her to go completely still. Sandra kept a hold of her, making sure she was knocked out. She then released her and took a few steps back.

She looked at Mosaic up and down, making sure that she was still breathing, but in no condition to come after her. The mark on her head quickly stopped glowing, returning to normal. She gave the zoner a quick smirk.

"You did put up a good fight. I must admit that about you." Sandra said. Then her voice darkened. "But remember. Give me enough reason, and I will end you. No one is going to interfere with me ever again."

With that, Sandra turned and left the hospital.

sss

No it couldn't be true... Please let it not be true.. Anything but that, please...

Rudy's mind rang with thoughts, swirling around, creating a confusing mess. He was only vaguely aware of Penny running along beside him. Mint was not with them yet; he had diverted away from them in order to see Ripclaw. None of them faulted him for it; he hadn't seen his creation in a long time. He promised to meet up with them later.

Rudy's heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest. He was in utter horror at what he had learned when he got here. If Mint had known about this as well, he'd be coming with them, too.

After Mint left, he and Penny headed towards the hospital to see Snap. They had planned to talk to him momentarily before they continued their investigation with the fireworks. They did not have much luck with that, but they did get word of one zoner who might know more. They made plans to go talk to said zoner after they visited Snap so he knew what was going on.

But when they were making their way down the street, they overheard some zoners talking. Rudy and Penny stopped, and listened to what the zoners were saying.

It took them only seconds to realize that the zoners seemed happy about something. They sounded like they were ready to celebrate. They had to move in a little closer, listening more intently, in order to figure out why they felt that way. The reason was not something they expected, or really wanted. In fact, it downright horrified them.

It turned out that Snap had been arrested from his hospital room. The zoners they were seeing must be some of the many zoners who were convinced that Snap was the murderer. They were saying things like how Snap could never hurt anyone again, how they looked forward to the trial, how they wish they could have seen the look on Snap's face when he was taken away.

The two human children did not stay long to listen to more. Their minds filling with terror, they immediately headed off to the hospital.

Rudy didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think that his best friend had been arrested. He had just seen him the other day. How..how was this possible? Who could have ordered the arrest? What could have happened to make the zoners take action and arrest Snap, rather than just yell at him?

Rudy's first thought was that Dr. Gelcro had something to do with it. He recalled how much that zoner hated Snap. He knew full well that he would have gotten Snap arrested at the first opportunity. Penny wanted to be more lenient with Dr. Gelcro and give him the benefit of the doubt. But she had to agree that the husky could have done something. The doctor zoner had made it clear to her and Rudy that he fully intended on taking action if he felt he had a reason to. Dr. Gelcro would not protest to Snap's arrest.

They both agreed, however, that even if Dr. Crobat were still Snap's doctor, the arrest still would have happened. The doctors had no authority over the cops. If the police decided Snap should be arrested, then the doctors have no choice but to comply.

But why would Snap be arrested? He and Penny did know that many zoners thought he was guilty. They were getting some of that slack as well, and the negative comments regarding Snap were becoming more and more frequent. But to be angry at Snap was one thing; to arrest him was another. What could have provoked such action? He and Penny had to find that out, and fast.

The two of them wasted no time. They ran in the direction of the hospital. They rushed past any zoner they came across. Even if the zoner attempted to speak, they would move past them without saying a word. Some of the zoners appeared to be simply curious, but a few of them had sneers on their faces. If they were to speak, Rudy didn't doubt that it would be a condenscending remark regarding their friend, or them continuing to defend him.

When they reached the hospital, they rushed past the receptionist's desk. She had tried to stop them, but they ignored her cries. They knew they could get into trouble, but at the moment, they didn't care. They kept running up the stpes and down the hallways until they reached Snap's room.

Their eyes widened when they saw that Snap wasn't in his room. They looked left and right, hoping that he had just tried to get up and wander around despite his injuries. But they soon had those hopes dashed when they saw Mosaic laying prone on the ground. She appeared to be sleeping, and did not look alert or concerned. If she was here, not doing anything, then that meant that...

Rudy shook his head, a part of him in denial. There..there had to be another explanation for this. Snap couldn't have been arrested. The zoners wouldn't have done that..would they? Sure, some were calling for his arrest, but with no evidence, they wouldn't have tried, right?

The two of them were about to take a few steps forward when some voice behind them made them freeze.

"I see you found out."

Rudy and Penny turned around. They immediately adopted defensive postures when they saw it was Dr. Gelcro. He wore a dark smirk n his face. The two humans took a step back, staring at him warily.

"Oh settle down. I have no intentions on doing anything to you." Dr. Gelcro said, raising up his hand. "However, if you want me to explain..." He motioned toward himself. "I'll be happy to obligue." He then motioned towards them.

Rudy and Penny looked at one another. Then they turned their attention back on Dr. Gelcro, narrowing their eyes. From the sound of it, Rudy was convinced that he was responsible. Perhaps he was correct, and Dr. Gelcro convinced the cops to arrest Snap or however else he managed to accomplish this. The husky zoner made no attempt to look innocent. That smile alone told volumes.

It took all his strength not to snap at the zoner. He felt his lips quivering, part of his teeth being exposed. He could tell Penny was likely having the same problems. He did not look at her, though. He kept his attention solely on Dr. Gelcro. He felt himself unable to tear his gaze away from those horrendeous red eyes. It was like it gripped him with some invisible hand, forcing him to remain where he was.

With barely controlled anger, Rudy asked, "What happened to our friend...?"

At this, Dr. Gelcro turned his head to the side. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't try to lie to us!" Rudy pointed towards the bed. "Where is Snap?!" Rudy knew he had sounded angrier than he had intended. Penny's hand on his shoulder did help settle him down a little. He continued to glare at Dr. Gelcro.

"Hmph. What a temper you have, boy. If I were you," The husky pointed a clawed finger in his direction. "I would learn to shut it." He glared at Rudy for a few more seconds before he leaned back, folding his arms against his chest. "As for where he is, well, he's exactly where he belongs." He leaned forward, sneering at Rudy and Penny. "He's in jail."

At this, Rudy and Penny felt cold fear rush through their bodies. It was just as they had worried about. Snap really had been arrested. He had been hauled off to some old jail where he would be trapped with other criminals. The thoughts of what could happen to their friend rushed through their heads. Each time, the visions got gradually worse and more disturbing. They tried to push the thoughts out of their heads, but it became impossible.

The idea of Snap going to jail was horrifying enough. But Rudy remembered there was a big possibility that the mob from before were also locked up in prison. There was a good chance Snap would run into them again. He shivered at the thought of Snap being trapped with zoners who hated him. Without any restraint, just how were they going to treat his friend? He knew the end result would ultimately not be good. Even if they don't actually hurt Snap, they could still torment him mentally.

How..how could this happen to their best friend...? Why was this happening..? What did Snap to do to deserve this? How could these zoners have arrested him? What would prompt such a decision?

Rudy tried his best to control the torrent of emotions rushing through his body. He tried to keep himself from shaking, yet he failed. He could feel the trembling of his body, the emotion rushing through him like water on a beach. He found himself still staring at Dr. Gelcro, the zoner's gaze seemingly piercing into his. This zoner...how could he do this? How could he condemn Snap like this? Even if he wasn't the one who sent him away, Rudy knew that Dr. Gelcro would have made no attempt to stop the police. He may have just watched the whole thing with a satisfied expression on his face.

Rudy formed a fist with his hand, feeling it shake beside him. He could still feel Penny's hand on his shoulder. He tried to keep himself calm, but he found it increasingly difficult to do. Glaring at the zoner, thoughts rushing through his head, the twelve year old eventually found his voice and used it.

"How could you...?"

Dr. Gelcro's ears twitched at this. He turned his head to one side, looking at Rudy expectantly. "How could I what?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "How could you arrest Snap when you have no prove he did anything?"

Dr. Gelcro chuckled at this. "Oh that is rich! Oh that's good!" He placed a hand against his chest, letting out a loud laughter that seemed to almost echo in the empty room. The husky slowed down and stared at Rudy and Penny with a clearly fake shocked expression. "Oh you are being serious aren't you? You really don't know?"

"If I did, would I be asking?" Came Rudy's bitter reply.

"Oh that is right." Dr. Gelcro chuckled. "Oh how silly of me!" He waved his paw dismissively. He took a step forward, his bushy tail swinging from side to side. "A piece of your friend's clothing was found at the scene of the crime."

"What?! But that's impossible!" Penny cried. "We..I mean, the cops already searched Shrapnel Tower and..."

Dr. Gelcro raised his paw, silencing her. "First of all, we are aware of your little..excursion in Shrapnel Tower." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Be glad that we decided to overlook your disobedience."

Rudy and Penny were shocked by this. The zoners had found out about what they were doing? But they had snuck in and no one was around and... Unless... Maybe they had been followed. Maybe a small zoner was hidden, and had reported it to the police or somethign. Rudy bit his lip, wondering how this would affect how the zoners saw him and his friends.

Dr. Gelcro continued, "Second, I was not talking about that."

At this, Rudy and Penny looked at him in confusion. What was he talking about? The Shrapnel Tower was the only crime scene that they knew about where zoners had died recently. There couldn't have been another one. They would have known about it.

..unless a recent crime had taken place...

Cold horror rushed through Rudy's veins. Another murder? There had been another murder? No, it couldn't be. The only way it were possible is if that culprit got their machine working again. And if the machine is working again...

Oh no...

Dr. Gelcro elaborated more on his statement. "Some of our patients had been found dead. Their life support systems had been shut off. A piece of your friend's cape had been found at one of these locations. He is the only one we can connect to the crime. And so, based on this evidence, he has been taken care of."

"But Snap couldn't have done it. He can't even walk!" Penny protested.

"Yeah, and you know that!" Rudy pointed an accusatory finger at the zoner. "Don't try to tell me otherwise! We spoke to you enough to know. You had seen his wounds! They aren't fake!"

The husky nodded his head slowly. "That is true. However..." He folded his arms against his chest. "That doesn't mean he wasn't responsible. Obviously, he found a way to get down there and back up. He had been doing well with walking lately, so that could be how he had pulled it off."

Rudy shook his head. "No, Snap would not have done this!"

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. "Again with defending your friend, despite knowing full well there is no other way the cloth could have gotten there." He shook his head in disappointment. "I would think that the Great Creator would know that."

Rudy took a step forward, pulling himself away from Penny. He would have argued with the zoner longer about how Snap wouldn't do such a thing. But he and Penny both knew it would have been pointless. He was glad that Mint wasn't here; he would have been even more confrontational and potentially start a fight with the zoner. That certainly would not have granted them any favors.

Instead, he decided to focus on what mattered the most: Getting to Snap, and discussing their next course of action. They needed to pay more attention to how they were going to get Snap out of jail, not waste time arguing with a zoner who is clearly in no mood to listen.

Rudy spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. "Where was our friend taken?"

At this, Dr. Gelcro smiled. "Now that's more like it. Calm and polite." Dr. Gelcro turned his head towards the window, looking at them with a single red eye. "Your friend was taken to the local jail on the other side of town. I don't know if your plans on..negotiation...will work, but.." He turned his head so both his eyes could see them. "They might allow you to see your friend."

Rudy nodded his head once. "Thank you."

"Come on, Rudy." Penny grabbed onto his arm. "Let's get out of here."

Without looking back, the two human children made their way out of the hospital room. They could feel the husky zoner's red eyes boring through their backs. The sensation was difficult to ignore. Even as they fled down the hallway, they could still feel Dr. Gelcro's presence.

Rudy attempted to ignore it the best he could, turning his thoughts to Snap. He hoped his friend was doing okay. The thought of him being alone and frightened... trapped with zoners who hated him... He tried to push back the unpleasant thoughts as he and Penny made their way to the jail.

sss

Rudy sat down on the chair. He did his best to remain calm, but it was difficult to do so. His mind was spinning with several thoughts, recounting what had happened when he and Penny arrived.

He and Penny had attempted to negotiate with the police. He had known it would be a difficult endeavor. He knew that, chances were, they would not get a good reception with it. But he never would have thought it would have been as bad as it was. The cop zoners seemed outright insulted that he and Penny had tried to bargain with them regarding Snap.

He and Penny had been told countless times during the ensuing argument that the police do not make deals with anyone. Not even creators. If they wanted their friend out, they would have to do it the good old fashioned way; by defending him in court. Their friend was going to stand trial in three days. They could try to defend him then, and hope that they could come up with a good enough case to convince the jury that Snap was innocent.

Rudy wasn't sure what he, Mint, and Penny could do to defend Snap. They had no evidence themselves, and the only pieces of evidence linking anyone seem to indicate Snap. The fireworks might provide a clue, but even then, they'd need more to show that Snap had nothing to do with the crime.

But he knew that they would have to think of something, and fast. When Penny asked what would happen to Snap if he were convicted, they were given a bone chilling response.

He was to be executed.

They tried to fight back the tears fighting in the back of their eyes. They couldn't stop the dread from snaking up their bodies. Their friend could be killed for a crime he did not commit. The situation had taken a dire, terrifying turn. And for a while, they could not speak.

He and Penny were in the visiting room of the prison. There were several stalls all around them, most of them occupied. There were various prisoners, some looking rather dangerous while others looked like they had committed very mild felonies. Though looks can decieve. For all they knew, any one of these zoners could be dangerous, and any one of them could have it out for Snap.

Poor Snap... He was sitting on the other side of the glass wall. There were a few holes present in the wall, allowing for communication between them. Those prison did not use a phone system, probably to keep conversations much less private. A precaution they presumed.

The orange jumpsuit that their friend was now forced to wear stood out very easily among the white stone that formed this room, curving and making sharp edges as it separated the stalls. A white platform was in front of them, allowing them a place to rest their arms. The window was connected completely into the white platform, offering no space. Rudy knew of some prisons that have a space to allow small exchanges, but it was obvious this prison did not want to risk contraband. Not that they would risk pulling such a stunt in case Snap got a worse punishment for it.

Snap looked absolutely terrified. And why wouldn't he? He was being condemned by these zoners. He had been arrested and would be forced to stand trial for a crime he was innocent of. And if he is found guilty..he was going to die... Rudy fought back tears, not wanting to believe it.

"I'm so sorry, Snap." Rudy finally said after an uncomfortable silence fell upon them. Snap looked up at him. "I..I tried to get them to let you go, but..." He closed his mouth, gritting his teeth. "I failed you. I'm so sorry."

Snap leaned forward, his arms resting on the white platform in front of him. He gave a small smile to Rudy, clearly attempting to look brave. "Don't worry about it, Bucko. You did all you could."

"Yeah. Besides, I don't think they would have listened to us even if we did have a convincing argument." Penny said. She put a hand on Rudy's shoulder. "Don't worry, thoug. We'll find some way to help Snap get out of here. You'll see."

Rudy turned his gaze down. "We don't have much time, though, Penny. We've been trying to figure things out, and even lately, we haven't had much luck in anything we've tried." He looked over at her. "How can we find out anything in three days?"

Penny hesitated at first. She gave Rudy a sympathetic expression. She managed to smile, part of her mouth ticking partially upwards. "Something will come up, you'll see."

Rudy wished he could be as confident as Penny was right now. She seemed so sure that they would succeed. He wanted to be more like that. He wanted to believe that they could do this. After all, they had been in tough situations before. They had faced off with Mint a couple years ago. That situation had seemed hopeless, but they did turn it around, and now Mint was a full-time ally.

But no matter how hard he tried, he just..couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to be as hopeful as Penny seemed to be right now. He couldn't stop the nagging feeling in the back of his mind, tugging at his heart, that everything was going to go so horribly wrong. Snap had been arrested, despite their efforts to ensure that their friend wouldn't get into bigger trouble. They weren't able to stop the culprit from framing Snap yet again, and now here he was, trapped in a prison with zoners who likely hated his guts.

Penny seemed to notice his anxiety. Her eyes furrowed with concern. "I know it will be a difficult journey, Rudy. I'm not saying that it will be easy. But there's still a chance that we'll find out the truth." She moved in closer, putting her arm around Rudy. "Let's try to focus on that, okay?"

Rudy nodded his head. He couldn't get himself to feel less anxious, but he did start to feel a little better knowing that they still had a chance. It was only three days, but at least that gave them some kind of buffer to work with. And there was something else he could not forget.

"There is also that firework." Rudy said softly.

At this, Penny nodded her head. "That's right. We still need to ask more zoners around about that."

"Firework?" Came Snap's confused voice. At this, Rudy and Penny realized they hadn't yet told Snap about their thoughts, or rather, they did not remind him. His memory was still in shambles.

Penny said, "The fireworks used to cause the explosion emitted a white flame. It's a rare type of firework. We have been trying to find out who had bought them, but we hadn't had much luck."

Rudy chimed in. "But we did learn the name of someone who might have some knowledge. We plan on finding him soon." He looked over towards the clock. He gritted his teeth, feeling stupid that he did not realize just what time was. "We can't stay much longer..."

Snap scooted his chair in closer. "I wish you guys could stay." His eyes widened, filling with emotion. "I don't like it here."

"I know, Snap." Penny said sadly, looking at him empathetically. "We'll do what we can get you out of there, okay?"

"We promise." Rudy said.

Snap smiled at them. But he did little to hide just how afraid he was. Seeing him like this was absolutely heartbreaking for Rudy and Penny. Rudy suddenly remembered how Snap had told them about how some of the zoners here flatout told him that they hated him and they hoped he was convicted. They had said some pretty nasty things to him before he and Penny arrived. While they did not hurt Snap, it was clear that they shook him up.

Rudy wished he could get Snap out of here. He wished that he could come up with a way that Snap did not have to stay here. But he knew that it was a hopeless endeavor. Nothing he and Penny said or did would convince the cops to let him out. They found evidence of him being at a scene of the crime, and based on that one evidence, they locked him up in here.

Rudy took a look around. He noted that some of the zoners, both prisoner and visitor, were glaring or sneering in Snap's the direction. He glared back at them, but said nothing. He turned his attention back to Snap. He was saddened to see his friend react so badly to those glares. It was clear he was trying to look brave, but he and Penny could see the poor zoner cringing away. Rudy wanted to say something in Snap's defense, but he was afraid that he was going to make the situation worse. So he forced himself to keep quiet and keep his focus on Snap.

In the back of his mind, he began to wonder if he and Penny, along with Mint, would really find the culprit in time. They had so few days left now. They would have to work extra hard these next couple of days, or Snap... He tried not to think about it.

"Don't worry, you guys." Snap said. He smiled the best he could despite his situation. "I know, somehow, you will pull through."

Rudy and Penny smiled at this. They were glad that Snap still had faith in them. Even in this moment of hopelessness, Snap still truly believed in them. They were grateful for that. They all could use some hope right about now.

The question was...

...would it be enough?

None of them could be sure. Things could still go horribly wrong. There was hardly much time left. They all knew that they would likely need more htan just hope to help them.

But at the same time, they knew that it was best to cling onto some hope. If they did not, and fell into despair, then they would miss and overlook clues that could help them find the culprit and free Snap. They should not get their hopes up too high, but they also could not allow themselves to feel utterly hopeless.

Rudy knew the best thing they could do was keeping hoping, and keep trying. They still had time. They still had an opportunity to find the real culprit. They just had to keep trying. They...

"Visiting hour is over!"

Rudy winced as he heard that voice ring out over the intercom. As soon as that booming voice sounded out, he could see some guard zoners appearing in the two entrances to this place. About four of them, large and bulky, and carrying weapons. They were tasked to take care of anyone who stayed here too long. Harsh, but there was nothing Rudy and Penny could do about it.

Although Rudy did not want to leave his friend, he knew he had no choice. The guard zoners would rush him and drag him out if he did not leave in the next couple of minutes. Reluctantly, he and Penny bid their friend farewell and got up to leave.

They took a few steps towards the door and paused. They looked back at their friend, their eyes meeting. They stared at each other for several seconds, conveying a silent, yet powerful message to one another. Then Rudy and Penny, unwillingly, left the jail. They needed to locate Mint. They had much to discuss.

sss

"All right, come along, you." The jail warden said, his eyes narrowed.

"Okay, I'm going!" Snap cried.

"You're too slow!" The jail warden glared down at him. "Why can't you move faster? I don't have all day, you know!"

Snap rolled his eyes. "I could move faster if you didn't have my hands and feet cuffed like this."

At this, the warden sneered at him. "Like I am going to take a chance with you, murderer."

Snap winced at this. He would have tried to refute that statement. He wanted to defend himself. But he knew, here, that was not a good idea. He was no position to do that, and he could land himself in hotter water than he was already in. As much as he hated it, he had no choice but to put up with the names that he was going to be called here.

He continued to move along the hallway. The jail warden was behind him, ensuring that he wouldn't try to run and escape. Not like he could get very far like this. His legs were chained together, inhibiting movement, and his hands were handcuffed together. It was a precaution in case he tried anything. It was temporary at least.

The jail warden led him down the corridor. Left and right, he could see jail cell after jell cell, the iron bars being the only things separating him from these zoners. He looked from side to side, seeing that most of these cells had one lone prisoner, though a couple had room mates.

Each of the zoners, he noted, did not look happy to see him. There were glares on their faces. Snap had to wonder if these zoners were the ones from the crowd he had been told about. The one that had been calling out for his death and arrest. If that is the case, he wondered what they thought of him now, trapped here with them, the zoner whom they all blamed for the death of their loved ones. He lowered his head, feeling their glares pierce through him. It was an uncomfortable sensation.

Suddenly, he came to a stop. The warden grabbed onto his chains, forcing him to halt. Snap nearly gagged as a result. The warden gave no look of sympathy or remorse. He walked over to the cell that they stood right next to, pulling out what appeared to be a small yet long key. He put it into the hole, turning it. After a click, the cell door was opened up.

The jail warden then proceeded to unhook the cuffs that kept Snap's arms and feet close together. He gave Snap no time to recover from that when he lifted him up and tossed him into the cell room. Snap let out a cry of pain as he slammed against the ground painfully. He lifted up his head and glared back at the warden as the zoner locked the door, trapping him inside.

The warden took a moment to jeer at Snap, "Try to have a good night here. It may be one of your last...if we are lucky."

With that, the jail warden disappeared down the hallway. Snap glared after him, gripping his hands on the iron bars. He took no care to really notice the glares he was getting from the prisoners that could see him. He just focused on watching the jail warden disappear down, soon becoming out of sight.

Snap closed his eyes and sighed. There was no use in wasting anger right now. In an instant, he could feel his body wash away that burning emotion, filtering through his hands and feet. His heart rate slowed down slightly as he attempted to relax a little so he could think more clearly about his situation. He took a few steps back, bowing his head, a low sigh escaping through his partially open mouth.

There was nothing he could do now. Despite really wanting to try to find a way out, he knew it would be no use. He was trapped here until his innocense was proven, or he ends up getting charged with murder and obtaining the death penalty.

His spine was shot full of ice at that memory. He could still recall the look on that zoner's face when he told him about that. The zoner seemed almost gleeful. He was likely another one of those zoners who lost someone near and dear to him when Shrapnel Tower was destroyed. Now he really thinks that his loved ones were being avenged. No wonder he wounded so happy.

Snap tried to push the unpleasant memory away. He tried to control his intense fear that was pulling him at the back of his mind. He knew that sitting here, feeling terrified, was not going to help him. He had to try to be strong and resist. The culprit would want him to break. He would not give the culprit that victory.

"Why, hello Snap..."

Snap stiffened up at that sudden, cold voice. It sounded as though its speaker could breathe ice over him now, turning him into nothing more than a sculpture made of frozen water. The zoner slowly looked over his shoulder, one eye looking around for whoever had called out to him.

He quickly realized that he was not alone in this jail cell. The voice had come from within this very cell. A cold chill went up his spine, realizing that the zoner who spoke had no good intentions for him.

He could soon see a zoner standing not far from him. He was mostly in shadow, but he did not need to be in the light for Snap to know what he looked like. A tall stick figure zoner whose most outstanding feature were his eyes. They practically seemed to glow, cutting through the darkness and piercing through him.

"Fancy meeting you here..." The stick figure zoner took a few steps forward, walking towards Snap. The small zoner took a small step back. "It seemed justice finally caught up to you."

Snap took in a few quick breaths. He could sense the dangerous aura off this zoner. "Who..who are you..?"

The stick figure zoner narrowed his eyes dangerously at this. He moved even closer, causing Snap to press his back against the cell door's bars. "You dare try to pull your amnesia crap on me? Oh don't waste your time, Snap. I know what you really are. Don't pretend that you don't know me." He grabbed onto Snap's arm and squeezed it tightly. "I am the zoner that is going to give you a little payback for what you did to my sister."

Snap looked up at the zoner, trembling, unable to control the fear rising up inside of him. "Your s-s-sister..?"

The stick figure zoner snarled at this. "Dear Galena died because of you!"

Snap shivered at this. He quickly realized just what kind of trouble he was in. He was not just trapped in a cell with a zoner who blamed him for that explosion. He was also trapped in a cell where his cell mate happened to have lost a loved one in the explosion the culprit had caused.

And in this stick figure's mind, he was the culprit. Unable to say a word, all Snap could do was gulp and cringe away, despite not having far to go.

"My name, since you claim you don't remember..." It was clear that the zoner did not believe his words. "I am Taima. Brother of Galena."

Taima suddenly yanked Snap forward. In that moment, Snap remembered his legs were still damaged and he leg out a cry of pain, feeling some blood oozing from his worse burns that still hadn't fully healed. Taima smirked at this and put his face close to Snap's.

"And I am going to become your worst nightmare..." He spoke in a low, growly voice.

Snap's eyes widened in horror.


	18. Running Out Of Options

Everything's falling apart!

-Falling Apart, Zebrahead

sss

Mint was silent, unable to believe what he just heard. His feet wobbled, and he nearly fell over. If it weren't for Ripclaw, he probably would have. The dinosaur lowered her head as he started to fall back, and he could feel himself hit against her. She let out a confused growl, but he paid her no mind. Right now, his eyes were focused on who were in front of him.

Rudy and Penny.

He stared at them, trying to figure out if what they had said was true or not. Maybe they had been mistaken? Or spoke wrong? Yet their expressions did not change. Both of them wore a concerned look that told him something was very wrong.

That look in their eyes, he had seen it one time before. It was the same look they had given to their friend after he had broken his back. Mint shuddered at the memory, recalling the heartbreak he had inadvertantly put them through. For them to give that same look again, it not only reminded him of what happened, but it told him that this was a very serious situation.

But what would have happened? He knew it couldn't be because Snap was still having a hard time remembering. They all knew that. This look was more of shocked disbelief, as if they were trying to mentally deny that it happened. The only reason they would give this look is if...

..is if something else had happened. His eyes widened at this. Thoughts of possibilities swam through his mind and he felt his imagination get the best of him.

He mentally shook his head before too many horrific images could flash. He couldn't let himself get worked up with his imagination. He needed to relax, and get the facts on the situation. After that, then he could begin to worry. At the moment, all Rudy and Penny did was tell them that the situation had gotten worse. Now he was going to find out just what that entailed.

"What happened...?" Mint said, speaking as softly as he could. "I know it might be hard, but please...tell me."

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but he soon shut it. His face contorted slightly, a mixture of emotions flashing on his face. Mint looked at him, flinching slightly as he noticed how Rudy had reacted. This made his heart sting, and the apprehension of what could have happened well up inside.

Penny, however, seemed to be in a more talkative mood. She took a few steps, positioning herself in front of Rudy. She, too, looked rather troubled, biting her lip and having a saddened look in her eye. Though their expressions had softened up slightly in the past few seconds, Mint could tell something was still troubling them. He could still see the fear and desperation in those eyes.

"Mint, Snap was arrested."

Mint froze at this, his eyes widening. He stared at the two in shock, wondering if he had misheard that. He listened to it over and over in his head. The same words would always come out. And he was forced to face the unsettling truth.

Snap had been arrested.

Mint couldn't believe it. He knew that the zoners were angry with Snap over a crime he didn't commit. But to actually go out and have him arrested when there's no proof..? That was a new low that even he would not have guessed. How could the zoners do this to him? What exactly did Snap do to warrant an arrest?

Did that darn husky doctor have something to do with this? Mint had a feeling that he was. Dr. Gelcro wasn't exactly the nicest zoner he had met. He was so persistant with Snap being the one to kill the zoners and hadn't really treated him and his friends all that well. The guy was a total creepazoid, as Rudy or Snap would have called him. Even though Dr. Gelcro said he wouldn't land Snap in the slammer, who is to say he was telling the truth? For all they knew, he made the phonecall to get the police over and have Snap be dragged off to jail.

The thought filled his mind with burning anger. It was especially uncomfortable knowing that Dr. Gelcro had replaced Dr. Crobat and was now in charge of Snap's case. Mint had his doubts that Dr. Gelcro did a whole lot to help Snap, and instead focused on having him be locked away somewhere.

Penny noticed his expression and she furrowed her eyes slightly. Mint looked at her in confusion at this. "No, it was not Dr. Gelcro who did this."

"I-It wasn't?" Mint couldn't control the wave of shock that went through him. "I had been so certain..." He lowered his head for a moment, letting this sink in. He reminded himself that there were other zoners besides Dr. Gelcro who would have reason to try to have Snap arrested. He looked at Penny again, leaning forward slightly. "Then who...?"

"We don't know exactly who it was. But we do know why Snap was taken to jail." Penny replied. "And that is exactly how we intend to find out just what happened."

Mint blinked a few times, staring at Penny. "What are you talking about?"

Penny opened her mouth to reply, but instead of her voice, it was Rudy's that graced their ears.

"Someone found a piece of clothing from Snap that was found at the scene of the crime. Some of the patients have turned up dead, and the doctors, well most of them, as well as large portions of ChalkZone City, believe Snap is responsible. Someone had called up the police and reported their findings. One of the doctors, other than Dr. Gelcro, or maybe one of the patients, and Snap was arrested shortly after."

"A piece of his clothing..?" Mint widened his eyes. "But..." He placed a hand on his forehead. He took a step forward. Ripclaw moved in close behind him, her eyes watching him intently. "How is that possible?"

Mint couldn't wrap his head around it. Snap had been in that hospital room the whole time for the past few weeks. He couldn't leave that room unless someone helped him. Even with a pair of crutches or a cane, Snap could not get to any part of the building, commit a crime, and then flee undetected. The cameras would spot him, and if they aren't working, the zoners populated that building more than enough for one of them to see him and stop him before he could do anything.

Not like Snap would even do any of that. He and his friends had seen what Snap was like whenever they visited him. He had always been so afraid, even if he tried to hide it well. Snap did not look or behave like any kind of killer. Instead, his behavior was more akin to a lost and frightened little boy.

It was that culprit again. He was the one who...

"We all know there is only one way for this to be possible." Rudy said, thinking the same thoughts as Mint. "The culprit has struck again."

"So you are saying that..." Mint seemed to be understanding what they were going for. "..if we take a look at the crime scenes, we could uncover some kind of evidence to lead us to the real killer?"

"Precisely." Penny nodded her head.

"We have a feeling that the doctors did not really do much searching around the crime scenes. We would not be surprised if they only looked at the came and used that as proof that Snap was the killer." Rudy narrowed his eyes in disgust, gritting his teeth. He sighed, relaxing himself, and gave a small smile. "Well, I'd say we should double check, and take a look for ourselves."

Mint gave a small smile at this. While he was not happy that more zoners have been killed, he was glad that this bad situation could be used to churn out something good. With this new crime scene, they may have a better chance at uncovering the truth. Unlike the first one, the hospital hadn't been blown up, so the evidence, if the doctors did not clean anything up, was still in tact. They could go to the rooms where the killing had taken place, and look for evidence that would lead to the real culprit, not to Snap.

He just hoped that the doctors would let them continue their investigation in the hospital. Mint couldn't help but feel worried that the doctor zoners, the ones convinced that Snap was the culprit, would go out of their way to prevent them from succeeding. Even though that would be an obstruction of justice and there were severe punishes for that, he didn't doubt that some zoner would be determined enough to screw with the evidence before they got there.

"We see you are concerned." Rudy said.

Mint smiled slightly at this. "Yeah, you could say that."

Rudy took a step forward. He stared straight into Rudy's eyes. "The doctors would not have erased any of the evidence. The killing was too frequent. The detectives already looked at the places, but from what I heard, the evidence was still there, as well as the piece of clothing from our friend."

"The zoners would not be stupid enough to try to tamper with the evidence, especially not in a place with security." Penny said.

"The security had been tampered with before." Mint pointed out. "What if they were messed with again?"

"I don't think the zoners would risk it. From what the technician told us last we asked, it's hard for a zoner trained in the field to tell if a security camera is working or not." Penny explained, holding her hand out in gesture. "It would be easier for them to let others handle the situation."

"Well that is true..." Mint felt a little better. If the zoners could not tamper with the evidence without risking getting caught, then at least they could be certain that what they find will be unaltered. Still, there was one other problem. "Would the doctors even let us look?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't. I mean, they would think that we'll be wasting our time." Rudy said. He gave a bitter chuckle. "They would think that we'll reach the same conclusion as they would. I don't think they, if they are so confident, have much to worry about. So they would have little reason not to allow us to look."

"But they might still try to stop us." Penny said. "We can't rule that out. So we'll have to think of a plan if we hit that deadend."

Penny had a pont. Indeed, they couldn't dismiss the possibility of the doctors trying to stop them. Snap had been arrested, which is something a lot of them wanted. If they got word that a group of kids were trying to do some investigation and how that could potentially free Snap, they may not react in the best of ways. They could try to do whatever it took to ensure that they'd fail, and Snap would remain in prison. So a plan to counteract that would need to be forged.

"But we have another area we need to investigate as well." Rudy said, his eyes widened as if he just realized something. "We need to talk to that one zoner about the fireworks."

"Oh yeah..." Penny breathed in. "I'm sorry. I was just so focused on that new crime in the hospital and..."

Rudy cut her off. "What are we going to do?" His voice was filled with urgency. "We can't neglect that, but if we go to it first, we may miss out on our chance to..."

"Why not split up?"

Rudy and Penny looked over at Mint. He stared back at them, a look of determination in his eyes.

"One of us could go find this zoner guy and talk to him. The other two can go to the hospital and look for clues." Mint said. "That way, we can get both done as quickly as possible."

Time was of the essence. Mint wasn't sure how long it was going to be before it was too late. Rudy and Penny hadn't elaborated on that yet. But he was going to assume there was little time left. The zoners likely wouldn't keep someone they thought was a mass murderer in jail for very long. They would certainly want to have him taken care of as soon as possible.

He imagined the trial would be soon. The trial would be publicized; all the zoners would be able to watch it, and it would be the talk of the town. That's what it was like when they had Skrawl arrested the one time. So at least they hadn't gotten to that point yet. But how long would it be before the trial? And what would happen if Snap was found guilty...? Mint did not want to think about it.

"You're right, Mint. That could work." Penny rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "But we'll need to decide who goes where."

"I'll be the one to interrogate that zoner." Rudy narrowed his eyes dangerously. "If there is a chance that this zoner was the one who framed Snap, or was involved in anyway, I want to be the one to talk to him."

Mint stared at Rudy, flinching slightly at the boy's expression. Rudy was usually a nice kid, and even when he was angry, he held back. But when it came to his friends, Rudy can get a little more hostile. He himself had bore witness to it. The memory still filled him with horror, especially now since he got to know Rudy a lot better. Sometimes it was still hard for him to believe that a boy as sweet as him can get so terrifying.

Rudy turned his attention to Mint and Penny. He made a gesture with his head, back to where ChalkZone City was. They were out on the country side, near where Ripclaw had been recooperating.

"You two. Go to the hospital and see if you can find any more clues." Rudy told them.

Mint and Penny did not argue with Rudy's declaration. It was clear to both of them that Rudy really wanted to be the one to confront the zoner who may have been responsible for this whole mess. They had to hope that he would not lose his temper, though. That could be problematic. But how would...? He thought of an idea.

Mint took a step towards Rudy. "Hold up."

Rudy let out a sigh. "Mint, I'm not in the mood to argue with you. Just please... d-"

Mint shook his head, waving his hand out in front of him. "No, no. It's nothing like that! I just wanted to let you bring along some help." Mint motioned for Ripclaw to take a couple steps forward. "Ripclaw can take you there faster."

Rudy gave a small smile. "Thanks, Mint." His eyes then furrowed with concern. "But...is she in riding condition?" He then lifted up his hand and pointed a finger in his direction. "And what of you and Penny? How will you get back to ChalkZone City?"

"No problem." Mint raised his hand and snapped a finger. "I already have that figured out."

A loud screech sounded out in the air. A huge shadow fell upon them, growing larger as something heavy fell down upon them. The three friends looked up and saw that most of their vision was filled with a massive wingspan. Another screech, and the creature touched down not far from them.

Penny's eyes widened at this. "No..you can't be serious.." Penny looked over at Mint. "You're expecting us to ride that thing?!"

"Why not?" Mint grinned. "You don't have trouble riding that oversized condor of yours."

"That's different!" Penny cried. "Courtney did not try to dive bomb me when she first encountered me!"

Mint's smile faded. He had almost forgotten about that small detail. He turned his attention back to the creature he had summoned. It was the same pterosaur that he had sent to grab onto Rudy, Penny, and Snap's hovercraft and brought them down. After such a terrifying experience, he couldn't blame Penny for being so nervous.

Mint took a few steps towards Penny and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It will be fine. Trust me."

Penny looked at him. She looked so uncertain. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll have everything under control." Mint said, doing his best to reassure her."

Although she still seemed unsure, Penny smiled at him. "Okay. I trust you."

Mint smiled at this, and then turned his attention to Rudy. "So we good on the plan?"

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah. Now we just have to think of a place to meet back at." He looked around the tree and grass-covered landscape, multi-colored leaves everywhere as if it were fall. He then turned his attention back to his friends. "Would out here work again?"

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah."

Penny agreed. "Sounds like a plan. Whoever is done first, just head here." The boys nodded at this. "If the other isn't back within an hour after one of us arrives, we go find them."

"Good idea. Just in case something happens." Rudy said. Wanting to get things started, he turned his attention to Ripclaw. He raised up his hand and motioned for her to come forward. "Come on, Ripclaw. Let's go."

Mint grabbed onto Ripclaw by her chin and lifted up her head. He leaned in close to her and whispered, "Make sure Rudy does not try anything foolish, okay?" Ripclaw responded with a small chirp.

Rudy stared at Mint. "What did you say?"

Mint grinned at him. "Nothing! Now come on, let's go."

Rudy stared at Mint suspiciously, but said nothing. He walked over to Ripclaw and climbed onto her back. The utahraptor's wings, the ones given to her by Rudy himself, spread out and she took off, her feet pounding the ground as she tried to gain some leverage.

As Ripclaw was preparing for flight, Mint and Penny walked over to the pterosaur. The large flying animal stared down at them, his beak glinting in the light. He lowered his head and body, allowing Mint and Penny to board him. Then, pawing the ground, the crimson-colored pterosaur raced off, getting ready to launch himself off the ground.

sss

"Whoa! Stop!" Rudy cried, pressing his foot against Ripclaw's flank. "I think we're here!"

Ripclaw slowed down, her feet somewhat skidding in the ground. Rudy felt himself being jerked forward as he held onto the feathered dinosaur. He managed to hang on tight, preventing himself from falling down. As soon as they came to a complete stop, he took a look around.

He and Ripclaw were in a relatively unfamiliar part of ChalkZone City. He and his friends didn't come by these parts that often. It looked like any other place of the city, although this particular area seemed a bit darker tinted, despite it not being in the Night Zone. The zoners around these parts appeared to be more cautious, walking around, sometimes looking over their shoulder.

From what Rudy remembered being told, it was because these parts of the city usually sold illegal things. A black market kind of area. Rudy was surprised such a place existed and, after all this time, he and Penny did not know anything about it, nor Mint. At least no weapons were sold here, which helped them feel somewhat better. But other things were still being sold.

Among those, the white flame fireworks.

While the white flame did appear in one or two stores in other parts of the city, their usage was limited and they only sold one per day. While it was entirely possible that the culprit could have waited a few days, gathering the fireworks to pull this off, Rudy did realize that was unlikely. Snap was caught in that explosion very shortly after he stopped the machine. Too early for the culprit if this was how he was pulling it off.

The only other possibility was this black market, which may have sold the fireworks more freely. The white flame was considered very dangerous if used improperly. And the black market was the best place to get such potentially unstable items.

Rudy wasn't sure how much luck he was going to have finding this particular zoner. He couldn't even give Ripclaw his scent, or her scent if the zoner was female. They didn't even know where to begin. He could see Ripclaw turning her head from side to side as she awaited his orders. Rudy bit his lip, hoping he could figure out some way to find this guy without scaring him off with Ripclaw's presence.

Then he remembered something. He and Mint had helped Penny out of Shrapnel Tower when it was falling apart, and he remembered that some of the firework dust had rubbed off on Penny. He wondered if... Maybe not, since it's been a while. Still, he had to try.

"Ripclaw." Rudy held out his hand, making Ripclaw turn her head to the side. Her one eye looked at him intently. "Smell my hand. There should be some smokey scent on it."

Ripclaw did as she was told. She moved her head closer towards him, bending her neck further. She pressed her snout against him, giving a couple of sniffs. Rudy could feel her warm breath against his skin.

When it looked like Ripclaw got the scent, Rudy motioned with his arm. "Let's go!"

The huge utahraptor let out a roar and bolted off. Her feet pounded the ground as she reached through the alleyways, her snout pointed upward, constantly taking in the scent. Rudy held on tightly as the dinosaur made sharp turns, avoiding the zoners and narrowly missing crashing into the walls. A part of him wanted to tell her to slow down, but his desperation to find this zoner as quickly as possible made him fall silent.

He and Ripclaw moved down the alleyways, zipping through them, trying to locate the source of the scent. Ripclaw could occassionally stop and look in both directions, as if trying to decide which direction to take. It never took her long, and they would always be back on the lookout.

A few of the zoners would cry out in surprise as they jumped out of the way. Rudy winced as he heard some pretty nasty things from not so friendly zoners. He did his best to ginore the comments, focusing on finding that zoner who sold, or bought, the white flame fireworks. They had to be around here somewhere.

After a while of searching, it seemed he and Ripclaw were going to come up empty-handed. They were almost out of the black market area. There were only a couple more blocks left and that was it. If they didn't find the zoner here, then they...

Suddenly Ripclaw paused, her feet planting firmly on the ground. Rudy looked at her, calling out her name. But she did not listen to him. She tilted her head up, turning it slowly from one side to the other. Then she stopped, staring intently at something. Rudy looked at her, following her gaze until he saw what she was focusing on.

To their side, there was a tall, white building, looking pretty pristine, as if newly drawn. There didn't appear to be any windows, a feature that made it stick out from all the other buildings, even more so than the fact that it looked brand new, or was made from what looked like metal instead of stone and brick. There was a tall door, a slit going down the middle of it, and a metallic-looking stair case that led straight up to it.

Rudy noticed how intently Ripclaw was looking at this building. It made him wonder... Could she sense something from this building? Did the smell lead her here? There was only one way to find out.

"Ripclaw, let's go." Rudy said, pointing his hand forward and then patting her on the side of her neck. Ripclaw needed no further prompting, and she immediately moved forward towards the building.

Rudy looked up slowly as they got closer. He could feel a sense of dread welling up inside of him. He gritted his teeth, Ripclaw's footsteps taking the two of them closer to this location. A part of him felt like running away. The other part forced him to go forward. He knew this was one of his few chances to learn more about what had happened that day.

Soon he and Ripclaw stood on the steps, and they walked up them slowly, taking their time. Ripclaw's scaly feet made little sound as she stepped lightly onto the rocky surfaces. She stopped in front of the door way. Rudy hopped off of her and moved forward.

He reached out towards the door. He paused for a moment, hesitating. He stared at the door, and then looked upwards at the rest of the building. It looked even more intimidating from this angle, accented by that shine that bounced off the metal. The building seemed to curve, and with how the light bounced off of it, it looked almost as though the massive building was curving in around him and Ripclaw, ready to crush them. He swallowed and looked back at the door.

He narrowed his eyes. He had to do this. For Snap, and for his friends, and for the rest of ChalkZone. Mustering up as much he could, he moved his hand towards the door and knocked against it with the back of his knuckles. He then took a step back and waited.

It didn't take long for him to get an answer.

"Who is it?"

"Rudy Tabootie. I would like to talk to you." Rudy paused. "If you don't mind."

There was a long, awkward silence. Rudy could feel anxiety grow inside of him. Had he said something to offend the zoner? Was the zoner getting reinforcements? The silence did nothing to help.

Then he heard the sound of clicking and clanging. He realized that the zoner was unlocking the door. He and Ripclaw stood still and quiet, waiting for the zoner to open up the door. Seconds later, the left door opened up slowly, revealing the zoner inside.

Rudy was shocked by what he saw. He had seen all kinds of zoners, but he had never seen one quite like this. He found himself taking a step back and even Ripclaw seemed to be nervous.

The zoner in question was an eight foot tall insectoid. They looked like a beetle crossed with a grasshopper. They also appeared to be made of metal; their bodies shined silver much like the building did. In fact, if the zoner hadn't been moving around a little, Rudy would have thought that they were a part of the building, a statue or something. With a head like that of an insect, it was hard to tell if the zoner was happy or not. The large, bug-like eyes stared down at him, freezing Rudy in apprehension.

The bug zoner spoke. "State your business, human. I do not have a lot of time."

Rudy winced. Even the voice was devoid of emotion, or any obvious signs of gender. Rudy gulped and said, "I was wondering if you know anything about the white flame fireworks."

The insectoid zoner tilted their head slightly. "Why do you want to know if I, Xannon, know about that?" Without a discernable variation in the voice, Rudy couldn't tell if they were offended or merely curious. "What traced you to me?"

Rudy opened his mouth to speak. He paused and took a look around. He could see some zoners were watching him. They all looked apprehensive, well more so than usual. They all seemed nervous around this Xannon person he was speaking to. That made him feel even more nervous. He could feel his heart beginning to clench. He turned his attention back to Xannon, not wanting to keep him waiting.

"Well, you see.."

sss

Mint and Penny moved through the hospital as fast as as quietly as possible. Neither of them wanted to attract the attention of the doctors. Most of them weren't on their side on this issue, and there was a chance that they might try to stop them if they found them wandering around here. It was easy getting past the receptionist, but the rest...they would have to be careful.

It was going to be difficult finding which patients had been killed, which rooms to check out. They couldn't very well ask, so their only option was to find the hospital records. They would have printed out this information for the obituaries. The printer room would have to be around here somewhere.

Penny guessed that the best place to look would be on the first level, in the back where the offices were. She had strong doubts that a printer room would be on the higher levels where the patients were. She hoped she and Mint would find the room soon. Otherwise, they could get themselves into trouble.

Penny looked left and right as she and Mint went down the hallway. They hadn't run into any doctors yet, which surprised her, but she was grateful for it. She turned her eyes up towards the walls a few times, looking at the signs that they passed by. She tried to look for any sign of a printer room, but so far, had no such luck. She began to wonder if they would even have a sign on the wall for it. It seemed unlikely, since the signs usually had locations of more important rooms, such as surgery or x-rays.

Down ahead of her, she could see they were headed to a deadend, with two ways to go. It didn't take her and Mint long to reach it. They quickly decided to go right and headed down that way. Following this path led them into an open room, and it took them seconds to realize that they had gone back into the waiting room.

Penny let out a soft groan. She couldn't believe they had gone in a complete circle. She looked over at Mint, who seemed just as shocked as she was. What were they going to do now? She didn't know if they could manage to get past the receptionist again.

Penny replayed their actions in her head, trying to see where they had gone wrong. She soon realized that she and Mint had gotten turned around somewhere. They had made a wrong turn, and then another wrong turn, and that took them back this way. They had been so focused on finding where the printer room was that neither of them realized they were heading back the way they came. Well, that would explain the lack of doctors, perhaps.

Penny grumbled to herself. They would need to figure out a way to get past the receptionist. Perhaps if she and Mint were quick enough, they could get away without her noticing. She motioned to Mint to follow her, and the two of them headed back towards the door they had went through before.

The receptionist spotted them immediately. "Now hold on there!" Penny and Mint flinched, noting the angry tone in the zoner's voice. "You're not going anywhere this time!" The two humans turned their heads, looking straight at the receptionist. "You two may have been able to get past me before, but this time, you're not."

"Please, we just want to..." Penny started to say.

The receptionist narrowed her eyes. "I'm sorry, but unless you are visiting a patient, I cannot allow it." She paused for a moment. "And since you usually come here to see that friend of yours, and now that he has been arrested, I see little reason to let you pass through."

"What if we want to see another zoner?" Mint asked. "If we are only allowed in to see a patient, then you can't deny us if we are trying to see another friend of ours."

The receptionist chuckled bitterly. "I highly doubt that, Enemy Creator." Mint winced at this. "If you two had any other zoner pals in here you were visiting, I would have known about it." She gestured to herself. She then motioned towards them. "Plus, no visitors are allowed in right now anyway."

"What? Why?" Mint asked, clearly ignoring the insult from before.

The receptionist narrowed her eyes. "Because of the murder, you id-"

Penny cut off the zoner before she could complete her insult. "Is that why the doctors aren't in the hallways? Are they worried that something might happen to the other patients?"

At this, the zoner nodded her head. "Of course." She rested her arms on the table in front of her. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two humans. Curling her lip up slightly, she said, "They don't know if the security system is functioning properly, or if other patients had been afflicted than what was discovered. They want to do a thorough sweep to see if Snap did anything else."

"Snap didn't do anything!" Mint cried.

"I am not the judge of that." The receptionist said. The tone of her voice gave away what she was indicating: the trial that was coming up soon. "Besides, why do you care? You put Snap in here before, remember?"

Mint narrowed his eyes at this. "I can't believe you're still..."

"Mint! Stop!" Penny gripped her friend on his shoulder, glaring at him. Mint lowered his head and took a step back. With Mint calmed down, Penny shot a glare to the receptionist. She would have scolded her for what she said, but Penny decided to push that aside. "Look, can we please just..."

She was cut off when she heard footsteps behind her. She could hear the sound of something tapping on the ground. A familiar sound that she and her friends had grown accustomed to when they had been visiting Snap. She turned her head and she could see a sight for sore eyes.

"Dr. Crobat!" Penny called to him, a smile spreading across her face.

The bird zoner stopped walking. He had his side facing Penny and Mint. He was looking at them with one eye. His eyes were widened in shock, as if he didn't expect to see them. He turned his head, looking down at them. "Penny? Mint? What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean? We always come here to visit Snap." Mint said.

"Well yeah, but since he got arrested.." The doctor flinched at that word. "Well..I thought that you would be trying to figure out what happened."

Penny took a step towards him. "That's exactly what we're trying to do." Dr. Crobat looked at her curiously. "We want to find one of the rooms where a zoner had been killed recently. We want to see if we can find any evidence leading to a different culprit other than Snap."

Mint said, "We know that he wasn't responsible." The receptionist rolled her eyes at this, but said nothing. "But in order to prove his innocense, we need evidence. If we can find something from the murder scene that points to a culprit too different from Snap, then..."

"..then it would place doubt and the culprit's methods would be partially undone..." Dr. Crobat said, finishing the sentence. "Yes, I can see what you are getting at."

"Will you help us?" Penny asked hopefully. "Please...we need to do this."

Dr. Crobat stared down at Penny for a few seconds. His eyes narrowed slightly, thoughts clearly racing through his head. After a few moments of silence, he gave a small smile and nodded his head once. "Sure, I'll do whatever I can."

Penny smiled at this, as did Mint. Both were relieved that Dr. Crobat was willing to help them. They needed all the help they could get. Dr. Crobat knew this place better than them and he likely knew who the deceased were. He could take them right to them.

The three of them moved towards the door, with Dr. Crobat in front and Mint and Penny behind. They ignored the cries from the receptionist, not paying her any mind. Soon they were back in the hallway and they began to travel through it.

Penny wasn't sure how long they had taken walking down the corridors and hallways. Nor did she care. Right now, the only thing she was focused on was finding evidence to help her friend get out of jail. She and Mint were determined to find something that would prove to the zoners that Snap had nothing to do with that attack on Shrapnel Tower, nor did he participate in the killing of hospital patients recently.

Dr. Crobat led them towards the stairs, moving up them as quickly as they could. Penny ignored the burning pain in her legs as they went up several flights of stairs. Then, when they reached the floor, they moved to the left, rushing past a few stray doctors as they did so. The doctors attempted to speak to them, but either they ignored them or Dr. Crobat managed to silence them. Most of the doctors they ran into were not allies, and they made that clear with the expressions on their faces.

Soon they stopped in front of one room. Penny looked up at the number and noticed something odd about it. There was a small, red dot located on the bottom left of the number plate. She looked over at Dr. Crobat, giving him a silent question that she knew that he would understand right away.

Dr. Crobat gritted his beak. "That's the death mark. We use this red dot to mark which patients have died, or will almost die."

"I've never seen a hospital do that before." Mint said, staring at the red dot. "I guess our Real World hospitals just don't see the point in them."

"Well when you work in a huge hospital in a world where death is much more uncommon, it pays to have a reminder." Dr. Crobat said. "We zoners are not unfamiliar with death, but we certainly don't tango with it as much as you humans do."

Penny nodded her head in understanding. Not wanting to stay on the subject of death for long, she said, "So...can we go in?"

Dr. Crobat nodded his head. "Sure."

Penny and Mint watched as Dr. Crobat reached forward and grabbed the door knob. He turned it slowly and pushed it open. She and Mint looked at each other for a moment and nodded their heads once. The three of them soon entered the room.

Penny snorted. Even though the room was devoid of any zoner, evidence of that zoner being there was apparent. A strong stench of death hung strongly in the air, making her and Mint cringe back. Dr. Crobat looked down at them sympathetically. He held an expression that told them that he had grown accustomed to this smell, and he understood how they felt.

The room hadn't been fully cleaned up. There was no body there. Penny wondered if the doctors had moved it somewhere. She wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. The equipment was still there, as were the cords that were attached to whoever had been laying here before. She cautiously moved forward, keeping her hands close to her so she didn't accidentally touch anything.

As she moved closer to the bed, she could hear Mint say, "Where did you guys take the body? To the morgue?" It seemed that he was thinking the same thing.

To their shock, the bird zoner shook his head. "No. We did not."

Penny stopped. She slowly turned around. She stared at the bird, wide-eyed. "What do you mean? I thought you found the patients dead..."

"That's highly exaggerated." Dr. Crobat said. "We know the patients were dead, yes. We can all smell the distinct odor of death. But we found nobodies. They were all gone." Mint and Penny stared at the zoner in shock at this. "That is why I am certain Snap couldn't have done it." He lowered his head. "Still, there are too many doctors here who think that Snap still could have pulled it off somehow."

"But how?" Mint asked, his tone filled with confusion. "He can't walk very well with those burned legs of his. How did they expect him to drag multiple zoners out of the building without getting caught?"

Dr. Crobat shrugged his shoulders at ths. "Well they think it was still possible, somehow."

Penny let this information sink in. The culprit responsible somehow managed to take a few zoners from this hospital without getting spotted. She couldn't begin to imagine the kind of stealth that would need to be involved. Snap would not be able to pull such a thing off in his current state, and she doubt that he would be able to do it even if his legs weren't damaged.

The idea of the culprit being able to pull this off without getting caught still frightened her. She could feel the cold fear moving through her body. Just how good was this zoner when it came to infiltrating buildings? What were they fully capable of? Would they be able to find a way to stop them? Penny hoped that somehow, someway, they would succed.

Penny turned her attention back to the bed. She moved in closer, her eyes looking at the wires and needs attached to them laying on the bed. She noticed something odd about them. It wasn't until she got close enough that she could see what it was.

The needle tips were coated in blood. Not a lot, but enough to unsettle Penny. She also noticed that the needles also looked a little bent. She narrowed her eyes slightly at this. This seemed to indicate evidence of a struggle. Indeed, the blankets seemed a bit kicked up, as if the zoner was attempting to fight back. This suggested that the zoner was conscious, and either trying to take in air, or the culprit had paid them a visit. Either painted a terrifying scenario in Penny's mind.

Penny and Mint soon began to look for clues. They walked around the room, looking left and right, trying to find anything that could help them prove that their friend is innocent. But no matter how long they looked, they seemed to be finding nothing.

They did not give up, though. They couldn't give up. They had to keep trying. If they failed...how were they going to help their friend? They were running out of options, and they were running out of time.

Then, just when Penny was about to try another room, Mint called out, "I found something!"

Penny, as well as Dr. Crobat, moved towards where Mint was pointing. They approached the corner of the bed, near where the heart monitor was. Penny looked in closely, her dark eyes trying to find what Mint had spotted. At first, she couldn't see anything. But when she looked in even closer, she could see something that she did not expect to see.

Claw marks.

Faint, thin, but claw marks nonetheless.

Penny's eyes widened at this. She glanced over at Mint, a warm feeling welling up in her chest, intermixing with sharp cold. A torrent of conflicting emotions rushed through her. She and Mint both knew what this meant.

On the one hand, it was a terrifying discovery. A zoner with sharp claws, dragging away an innocent victim... They could only imagine the pain and horror the patient must have felt in his final moments. The claw's indentions indicated that the culprit was not exactly very gentle.

But this did pave the way to Snap's innocense. Snap was a superhero zoner and did not have any claws, or anything sharp for that matter. This piece of evidence, alone, could help derail the suspicions that had been placed upon their friend. They had to show the other doctors this. She knew there was no way that they could explain how the claw marks got there...

...unless they try to say that Snap had an accomplice... Penny shook the thought of her head. She knew they still had to try. They still needed to look around and try to find more clues.

But they never got that far.

"What are you doing here?!"

The three froze, their bodies temporarily becoming statues. They turned their stiffened necks to see who had called out to them. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

There, standing in the door way, was Dr. Gelcro. The siberian husky had his arms at his sides, his fingers curled against his palms, his fists shaking. His red eyes were narrowed, lips curled back into a snarl. His tail swished from side to side, and the fur on the back of his neck was slightly raised. His ears were pricked forward, and his expression held a mixture of disbelief and fury.

The husky zoner took a few steps into the room. He glared at Penny and Mint, but his focus was pushed almost entirely on Dr. Crobat. The bird zoner took a few steps back as Dr. Gelcro approached him. A low growl eminated from his throat, and, judging from this, Penny could tell that this zoner could not be reasoned with.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Dr. Gelcro snapped at Dr. Crobat. He pointed a claw towards him. "I told you, I took over Snap's case!"

"Snap was arrested!" Dr. Crobat yelled back. "I am just helping them find clues! That's all!"

"Yeah, clues partaining to Snap! Who happens to be my jurisdiction!" Dr. Gelcro pointed at himself, his arms rigid, showing just how angry he was. "You have no idea just what kind of trouble you are in, Dr. Crobat..."

The bird zoner's eyes widened at this. Then they narrowed. "What kind of trouble I'm in? What about Snap?"

"Oh not this again..." Dr. Gelcro muttered, rolling his eyes.

Dr. Crobat ignored him, holding a hand out towards the window, pointing. "He was arrested for something he didn't do! Can you imagine how he must feel, trapped in that disgusting jail, surrounded by zoners who think he killed their loved ones?!"

Dr. Gelcro placed a hand on his head, rubbing his temples. "Please, will you just drop that already?" He let out a groan of frustration. "The more you say he's innocent, that doesn't automatically mean that he is." He lowered his head and glared at Dr. Crobat. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you all to leave. If I catch you here again, I will resort to more drastic measures."

"You can't do that!" Mint cried. "It's not fair!"

Dr. Gelcro bared his sharp teeth at Mint, making the boy take a step back. "You want to know what's really unfair, boy?" He moved in closer to him, closing the cap quickly. "Perhaps I should tell you. Or maybe you already know. After all, the Enemy Creator knows all about death and destruction, doesn't he?"

Penny glared at Dr. Gelcro. "Now you see here! Mint..."

"No, you see here!" Dr. Gelcro snapped at her, growling loudly. "I will not have you three cause more trouble for this hospital. It's bad enough that we lost patients under our noses. We don't need your fucking theories causing more screw up for us. So get out of here! Now!" He pointed a clawed finger towards the door. "Or I will call security!"

Penny glared at the zoner, gritting her teeth. She couldn't believe this was happening. Dr. Gelcro was attempting to cut their investigation short. And she wasn't sure how much help Dr. Gelcro could be. They were getting low on options, and Penny knew that, if they lost this opportunity, there would be little they could do in the future.

She hoped that Rudy was having better luck than her. She hoped that, somehow, he was able to uncover some kind of clue. Rudy was their only chance now.

sss

Rudy and Ripclaw ran as fast as they could. They dared not look behind them. Rudy had his arms wrapped around Ripclaw's neck, feeling her powerful muscles flex as they ran. He didn't know how long they had been running. All his racing mind was thinking about was getting away.

Behind them, he could hear the sound of footsteps, the clang of metal, and a loud buzzing sound. He knew that Xannon was on their tail, and if they didn't find a place to hide fast, they were screwed.

Suddenly, he felt Ripclaw jerk forward. She fell down into a tunnel, bringing Rudy along with her. They kept sliding down, running and tumbling down. Ripclaw's already damaged wing was getting worse as it was slammed a few times at odd angles. Rudy could feel himself getting banged up as he rolled down this tunnel, and then the two slammed against something hard and metal. A support structure of some kind.

Rudy coughed a few times, and he brushed himself off. He managed to climb up to his feet. His leg and arm hurt him, but he did not see anything that he felt was alarming. A few cuts and scrapes, but nothing worse than that. He looked over at Ripclaw to check her out.

She, too, appeared to be mostly fine. Her wing was in bad shape and she could not fly, but it didn't appear to be broken at least. But he was no expert; he would have to take her to the vet soon. He briefly thought about what Mint was going to think when he found out that Ripclaw was hurt. He pushed it aside, knowing that, right now, he couldn't focus on that.

He held onto Ripclaw, holding her mouth shut, as they heard footsteps. He knew it was Xannon. There was no way he could ever forget that sound, the squeaking of metal against metal, the way his sharply pointed legs cut into the ground. He held still, looking up to where the tunnel began, where the light was coming from.

Xannon was standing there, looking down the hole. He must know he was down there. There was no way he could not have known. And sure enough, Xannon jumped down, landing not far from where Rudy and Ripclaw were. He slowly turned around, his insect eyes, now glowing, looking for them.

Rudy and Ripclaw cringed behind the pillar they had ended up behind. They lowered themselves against the ground, and remained as still and as quiet as they could. Xannon came over, turning his head from side to side, his antenna moving around, trying to scent them.

As they remained hidden, hoping that Xannon would overlook them, Rudy's mind raced. He could not believe that his interrogation had turned out this way. He couldn't believe just how angry Xannon had gotten. Now here he was, hiding from him, hoping to not get ripped to shreds by his sharp, metal appendages.

It quickly became apparent to him that this zoner was not involved in what happened to Snap. He did not sell any white flame fireworks. He couldn't have been the one to give the culprit the fireworks, nor could he have been there. No one had seen a metal zoner in that area, and there was no way they could have missed it.

Rudy felt his heart clench, intermixing not just fear, but horrific realization as well. He knew that he and his friends had just lost one of their only clues to what happened on that day. They had lost this key that could have proven Snap's innocense. Options were running very low now, and Rudy feared that they would run out completely.

He could only hope that Penny was having a better time finding clues than he was.

sss

Sandra grunted as she dragged the bag over towards her machine. The bag was a bit heavier than she imagined it would be. She lifted it up a little more, slinging it over her shoulders. She approached her machine, eager to get everything set up.

She had gotten some more meat for her restaurant lately, but she knew she had to get more. She didn't want to take the chance of running out of meat. That was her thing, her specialty. Each of her specials always partained to some kind of meat..well most of the time. She was able to get the most variet out of them and her customers were prying for her meat-based dishes. Her more vegan and vegetarian options still got sold, but they weren't nearly as popular.

So in order to keep up with this demand, she had to get more meat. She knew exactly where to get some as well. There was a nice place in the city where she usually gets her meat. There was plenty to choose from, and a vast variety as well.

But this time, she wanted something different. She wanted, just this once, to go somewhere else to obtain the meat. She found another place, not so big, and she found something that would work wonderfully. It was a bit of a challenge to get, but she pulled it off. She was hardly proud, though. She felt it was a little too easy. But oh well.

She soon reached the machine. She dragged the bag over. She needed to have this meat freshly ground up before she can use it for any of her recipes. She lifted the bag up and proceeded to get the meat out of it. She held it up high, pulling the bag over, letting the meat inside drop down...

...only to reveal a recently deceased corpse.

Sandra stared down at it, a small smile spread across her face. If she remembered right, this zoner had been known as Doofus Penny. It was so sad that it was so easy to kill her. The zoner had been too trusting, and didn't attempt to fight back until it was too late. She had made quick work of her, the gashes on her throat being a testament to that. Oh well, easy prey was better than wasting energy.

Sandra grabbed onto Doofus Penny's neck and dragged her over to the machine. She raised her tail and pressed one of the buttons. The machine whirred to life, the sound of metal clanging together being heard easily, despite being a little muffled. She then lifted her up over the wide opening and dropped her in. Sandra took a step back, listening to the crunching, grinding, and gushing as the machine did its magic.

Then, seconds later, out onto the silver vat which Sandra had placed there, a pink, slimy substance came out, dropping onto the plate in a sickening, wet thud. Sandra watched and waited, and soon, after several more seconds, the machine was done. Now there were a couple of pounds worth of this pink material in the vat.

Sandra smirked at this. She knew her customers were going to love this new meat.


	19. The Path Less Traveled

Criminal! The suffering, it makes me feel like a criminal.

-Criminal, Disturbed

sss

"Hey look! It's the murderer!"

"Yeah it is him! It was because of him that my wife had perished!"

"Let's get him!"

"No... The little fucker is suffering enough. Being here in jail is punishment enough in my eyes. Let him be."

"Yeah. Let him rot on his own."

Snap tried to ignore the things the other prisoners were saying. He tried to ignore the glares he was getting. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push the feeling away. Constantly, he could feel their stares weighing down on him, giving him looks that could kill.

It had been a day since he had been arrested, or so he had been told so generously by his room mate. But it still felt like months, years. The time that he spent here in the morning, going onto noon, it was some of the worst moments of his life. Never before had he ever felt this terrified, this scared. He didn't know what to expect. He didn't know how long he was going to last. He didn't know which would get to him first: the trial or the zoners' treatment of him here.

According to his room mate's taunts, he had done some work on him when he had first arrived. Not much, just a mere warm up. But that warm up was bad enough that one of his legs didn't work as well as the other. There was a deep bruise, a bit hard to see given the redness his legs still retained. As a result, he couldn't walk very well unless he had a cane. He had been given a very flimsy one that just barely supported his weight, and his movements were quite slow.

His room mate, who went by the name Taima, had toyed with him a bit when he woke up. He knocked him around, giving him a couple of bruises and small cuts. No one did anything to try to stop him, and there was little Snap could do against him. He was taller and stronger than he was.

It was lunchtime now, and Snap was doing whatever he could to ignore the jeers and taunts from the other cellmates. Some brushed by him, purposely dropping things on him, such as milk or juice, or striking him, nearly knocking him out of his seat. One zoner in particular slapped him on his back when he was eating and nearly caused him to choke on it. Some of the zoners gave fake apologies, which further aggravated and unnerved Snap.

Snap stared down at the gruel on his plate. The stuff had an awful smell to it, and it tasted rather bland. He had a feeling that licking the pavement on the road would taste better than this. It was the only food he was allowed to eat, though, and, reluctantly, he pushed his spoon in and resumed eating.

Suddenly something struck him on his back, forcing him forward. The spoon got lodged in his throat, and his eyes bulged. He started to choke, grabbing at his throat as he tried to cough out the spoon. He could feel arms wrap around him and gave him a couple of squeezes, focused between the chest and stomach. With a guttural gag, he managed to spit out the spoon. He placed a hand on his chest and wheezed and coughed painfully a couple of times. He turned his head to see who had helped him.

To his shock, it was Taima. The zoner glared coldly down at him, his arms folded agaisnt his chest. Snap leaned away from him, staring cautiously, wondering if the stick figure zoner was going to do something else.

At first, all Taima did was stare at him. He wasn't the only one. A bunch of prisoners were looking at them. Most of them were sneering or smirking darkly, and they looked almost excited. This did little to cheer Snap up as it meant that Taima could be plotting to attack him at any second. He tensed his body up, preparing for whatever attack Taima was going to throw his way.

But instead, the glaring zoner simply sat down next to him. There was no tray with him, making Snap wonder why he was here. He thought that all prisoners had to report back to their cells when they were done eating. That was when he noticed the small can that he pulled out of his pocket. Some kind of generic, flavorless soda. The zoner pushed his finger in the cap and turned it, and Snap heard the classic popping sound of soda being opened up.

After taking a couple of sips, gulping loudly, Taima looked back at him. "I sure hope you weren't trying to get yourself free of your punishment."

"What?" Snap stared at him, confused by this accusation. "Why would I want to do that? You saw me try to get the spoon out on my own!"

"Indeed." Taima said coolly. He looked back down at his soda, turning it around as if examining it. He took another drink. "How do I know that you weren't trying to get a free escape ticket? After all..." He looked over and stared at Snap. "You can't be probaby tried if you are dead, am I right?"

Snap turned his head away. He gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe that this zoner actually thought he was going to kill himself to escape punishment. This zoner did not know him that well if he thought that. Snap and his friends weren't the kind to take the easy route. He'd never kill himself, even if he did do something wrong.

He decided it was best to just try to ignore Taima and resume eating. Despite the spoon having a strange smell to it after being stuck in his throat, he had to use it anyway. He picked it up, ignoring the wetness of the handle, and resumed eating.

Taima took another drink and he set his can of soda down. There was enough force to this action that there was a loud thud. Snap flinched, but he did not bother turning around. "You know, it is quite a shame that you managed to elude the authorities for so long. You would think they would get on the ball with this stuff." He gave a quick, dark chuckle. "I suppose that is something that can be remedied after you are... taken care of."

Snap resisted the temptation to growl at that statement. He tried to fight off the nagging fear and anger pulling at his stomach. He knew that things would only get worse if he allowed his emotions get the better of him. He was trapped in a jail with zoners who hated him. He could not allow himself to get worked up. Not here. Not now.

Snap focused on eating his gruel. The sooner he finished this up, the sooner he could go back to his cell. That would hardly provide any relief from this zoner, but at least he wouldn't have the unwanted audience. He looked left and right slowly, noticing all the zoners who wanted to hurt him. He offered only a glare back, refusing to let them get the benefit of seeing him terrified.

"What? You want to fight us?" A zoner called out. "Well come on, tough guy! Show us what you got!"

"Yeah! I bet without your precious weapons, you're nothing!" Jeered a bee-like female zoner.

Snap merely stared at them, not uttering a word. His expression, forcibly blank, did little to settle down the zoners. He could see them get angrier, but he didn't care. He knew they could do little to him, not so long as Taima was around. That was the only benefit he had from having him as his cell mate. He was determined to be the sole zoner to teach him a lesson.

"Maybe we should wipe that smirk off your face." A male zoner threatened as he got out of his seat.

"What smile?" Snap uttered under his breath. But he said nothing more. He continued eating as the zoner approached him.

As if on cue, he could hear Taima get out of his seat and walk over towards the zoner. Snap turned his head, staring at the scene with one eye. He did his best to look calm, though deep down, he was terrified. He had no idea if Taima was planning to prove his point with him or not.

"Now listen here! Only I am allowed to beat him up in my presence!" Taima declared. He raised his hand and pointed at the group of zoners. "You all had your shot at him! But remember. He's mine!" He gestured to himself.

"That's not fair! Why should you be the only one who..." The zoner said.

Taima cut him off. "Simple. If you all beat up Snap, then you risk killing him."

"So what? He's going to die anyway." Another female zoner sneered.

Taima shot a glare at her. This shut her up before she could say anything else. "That is true. However, that means he will not get the proper punishment from the law. Many of you lost loved ones because of that little monster, right?" Snap could see several zoners nodding their heads. "Well, don't you want him to get the punishment he deserves? Don't you want him to get sentenced? That's the only way true justice can be served."

Snap stopped paying attention after this. He could hear some of the zoners arguing with Taima, others seemingly agreeing with him. But it didn't really matter to him at the moment who agreed and who didn't. He cared not listen to how this conversation was going to end. It was shaking him up quite a bit.

He felt he was doing a good enough job hiding most of his emotions. But any zoner who payed close enough attention to him could see that he was trying to hide behind a mask that he could barely maintain. He could feel his body begin to tremble a little as the emotions started to bear down on him. He fought against these emotions, but he found it impossible. The sickening feeling ate away at him, feeling as though he was being torn apart from the inside out.

The trial... He knew his trial was coming up soon. A couple of days. The other prisoners, and even some of the wardens, had told him about it several times. Only a handful of zoners seemed concerned, unsure if he truly belonged her or not. Most of them, however, seemed a little too excited to have him locked away and killed off, as if he really was some kind of criminal.

Snap did wonder briefly if he did do it, but he was able to push those thoughts out of his head quickly. He knew himself better than these zoners. He would know he'd never do anything that they were accusing him of. He did not lure anyone into a building and kill them. He did not take out the life support system of weak patients in the hospital. Someone else had done that, and now he was being forced to take the rap for them.

Snap hoped that his friends could figure out something. He knew they were working on trying to figure something out. He was certain that, as he sat here and ate, they were doing what they could to help him. It was going to be hard. He had no doubts about that. But if they kept trying, something was bound to come up.

If anyone can prove that he was innocent, his friends could.

sss

"Oh what's the matter?" The warden sneered mockingly. "Can't you get to it yourself?"

"Come on, you can do better than that! With what you pulled off at the hospital, I would think you could pull this off with ease!" Cried another.

Snap winced, pain shooting through his body. He was on the ground, his hands trying to support him. His legs were crossed over one another. Stinging, horrible pain rose up from his feet all the way up to his hips. His left leg in particular hurt him, far more than his right leg. This was the leg that Taima damaged, the pain flaring up the most from the dark bruise on his shin, located near where his foot connected to his leg.

Snap pushed himself up off the ground. He grabbed onto the wall, desperately looking for a way to hang onto it. He found a small groove, just barely big enough to support his hands. He used that to gain leverage, pulling himself up until he was up off the ground, now leaning against the wall.

He panted heavily, trying to cope with the horrible pain. He felt as though a cold knfie had been placed against his leg and it was being sawed in half. His right leg felt better, but that didn't say much. Just the slightest pressure, and he risked buckling his knees and falling down. Tears of pain flowed down his cheeks as he leaned against the wall.

"Come on! Move it!"

Snap let out a cry of pain as he was shoved forward. He scrambled to hold onto the wall. He held on tightly. He looked behind him, seeing one of the wardens glaring at him. He ignored the jeers of the other inmates as he found himself unable to tear away from this zoner's eyes.

"What? Are you trying to play a game with me?" The zoner snarled at him, venom dripping from each word. "Well you are lucking out! Get moving!" He made a swift gesture with his arm, trying to prompt Snap to move.

Snap did his best to walk forward, using the wall as support. He paused, flinching as pain shot up his leg again. He turned his head behind him. His cane was far away by now, near the other end of the hallway. He looked back at the wardens in front of him. He took in several quick breaths, and, after a few seconds, gulped and attempted to move forward.

The wardens had forced him to walk on his damaged legs. This hadn't been the first time. A few other times before like when he had to use the bathroom during breakfast, they had shown they could be just as cruel as some of the prisoners here, and they took away his cane. They said how, if he could manage to kill several zoners in the hospital while injured, then moving around without the cane should be no problem to him. Each time he was forced to do this, it left him in agony. But the wardens could care less.

"Faster! We want to see you walk!" Jeered a warden.

The warden, who had been annoyed with Snap, simply crossed his arms and glared at him. "If you aren't back in your cell when I count to ten, I'll take care of you myself. Believe me, I'll make you wish that you did as you were told."

Snap's eyes widened at this. He attempted to push himself faster. He ignored the pain in his legs as he started to go a little faster than he was before. He whimpered and cried, the pain getting to him no matter how hard he tried to hide it. His vision was blurring up, tears strolling down his face. With each step, each force he put against his legs, especially his left one, the agony got more intense.

Soon he could not take it anymore. He fell into the ground, curling up into a small ball. He held his left leg against himself, letting out tears of pain, sobbing. He remained there, his body quiveringi n pain.

He got no sympathy. When he opened up his eyes, the warden from before, still glaring hatefully at him, reached down and grabbed him by his throat. Snap let out a grunt of pain, struggling in his grasp. He tried to escape, but it was no use. This warden did not handle him so gently, and he dragged him over to his cell, uncaring of how roughly he was holding him.

The warden opened up the cell. Snap would see Taima waiting inside. Snap could feel fear growing in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know which was going to be worse. Staying with this warden, who was constantly aggravating his injuries, or being trapped with one of the zoners who blamed him for the loss of a loved one. Both would have terrifying outcomes.

Before he knew it, the warden pulled his arm back. Snap could practically hear the muscles tighten up as he was prepared to be thrown. Seconds later, the warden threw him into the cell as hard as he could. Snap let out a scream as he sailed through the air and collided into the ground.

Snap rolled across the ground, kicking up a bit of dust. He heard the wardens say something derogatory to him, but he hardly paid attention. He was just vaguely aware of the wardens leaving as he pushed his hands against the ground, raising his front body up. He coughed a couple of times and turned his head...

...and came face to face with Taima.

The stick figure grinned bitterly down at him. "Why hello, Snap. Did you enjoy your little flight?"

Snap gulped, breathing in quickly. The courage he managed to muster up in the cafeteria was gone, the pain having ripped all of that away. He cringed away from the zoner, trying to crawl. Taima chuckled at this and closed in on him.

"No, p-please...I swear.. I-I didn't..." Snap began to plea. But that did little to halt the zoner fast approaching him. Snap dragged himself away some more, ignoring the horrible pain in his legs. "Please..." He waved his hand out in front of him in desperation. "Don't hurt me again..please..."

Taima paused at this. His eyes were wide in shock. Snap stared back at him, remaining quiet, breathing in and out rapidly. His heart rate increased when he saw Taima's eyes narrow, his lips curling up into a snarl, his teeth bared. Snap gulped and tried to crawl away faster. He did not get very far.

Taima lashed out, seizing Snap by his collar. He lifted him up into the air, putting his face close to his. "You dare try to beg for mercy from me?!" He pulled Snap back and slammed him against the wall. Snap let out a cry of pain. "I wonder how much my sister was begging when you killed her!"

Snap shook his head, gagging as Taima tighted his grip on him. "No, you don't understand! I didn't kill your sister! I swear!"

"Don't lie to me, Snap. The evidence has already been found. We all know that you were responsible for the deaths of countless zoners...including Galena!"

Snap did not remember meeting anyone named Galena. But despite that, something about the name seemed familiar. He wished he could figure out a way to unlock his memories. He needed to know, once and for all, what really happened that day.

But he could barely focus on that.

His thoughts were ripped away from that as Taima raised him higher above the ground and threw him across the room. Snap let out a scream as his head collided with the wall. He slumped to the ground, a headache beginning to spread through his skull. He attempted to climb up to his feet, despite the pain, but Taima rushed at him, and delivered a punch against his jaw.

Snap let out a cry as he was tossed to the side. He landed on the ground painfully, skidding across a couple of inches. Taima came at him again. This time, it was not his hand he pulled back, but instead his foot. Snap's eyes widened, knowing what was about to come. He shut his eyes, waiting for the blow.

Snap's eyes bulged as he felt the front of the zoner's shoe collide with his side. Snap screamed again, this time louder, as he rolled painfully across the hard, unforgiving ground. His back slammed against the bars, and soon he just laid there, unmoving save for a few shivers of pain.

He opened his eyes, whimpering softly, and watched as Taima approached him slowly. Snap wanted to run. He wanted to flee. But he could not budge. The pain in his legs prevented him from moving. The fear overtaking his mind made it difficult for his brain to complete the signals. It felt as though the fear was jamming something up, rending his body motionless, shivering from both pain and fear.

Taima launched himself into the air. Snap turned his eyes up, watching him as he came down. To his horror, the zoner belt his elbow forward, aiming it straight at him, fully preparing to use it as a sort of weapon. Snap shut his eyes, and barely had a few seconds before he felt the full impact.

The stick figure slammed his elbow against his stomach. Snap widened his eyes and let out a cry of pain. The wind was knocked out of him, and he coughed and wheezed as he desperately reinfliacted his lungs. As he laid there, he could hear the other inmates shouting, some cheering Taima on, others demanding to have their turn at him.

Before Snap had a chance to fully recover, he felt a hand around his left leg. He screamed in pain, the hand around it tightening, twisting his leg roughly. He was then pulled up off the ground. Taima held him up high, upside down. Snap dangled there, staring at Taima in fear.

"Don't you dare try to cover up what you did, Snap. Don't you dare try to lie to me, or anyone else here." Taima made a gesture to the zoners across from them. "We all lost loved ones because of you, and we will not tolerate you denying that fact."

Snap wanted to speak. He wanted to tell these zoners he was not responsible. He wanted to plead with them, try to tell them that the real culprit was still out there, doing who knows what.

But he knew better than that. He knew that if he dare try to deny it again, he was just going to keep getting hurt. He kept his mouth shut, hoping that, if he didn't resist, Taima would leave him alone eventually. The zoner glared hatefully at him, and Snap found it hard to look away.

"Do I need to remind you of the rules again?" Taima asked, his voice taking on a chilling tone. Snap knew what the zoner had in mind if he gave the wrong answer. After Snap did not answer, Taima pressed on. "I take it you finally learned your lesson? No more lying from this point on?"

Snap resisted the urge to plead with the zoner. He knew there was only one answer he could give to prevent himself from receiving a prolonged beatdown. He closed his eyes and nodded his head slowly. Taima chuckled at this show of submission. Snap did not say a word.

"That's more like it." Taima said. He carelessly released Snap, listening to him yelp as he fell into the ground. "See how much easier it is when you admit the truth?"

Snap looked up at him. He shivered in fear. "Y-You're not going to hurt me again..are you..?" He squeaked.

Taima stared down at him for a few seconds. Then his smile grew, gaining a creepy edge to it. "We'll see..."

Snap widened his eyes at this. He attempted to call out to him, but a quick glare from Taima shut him up. It was clear that the zoner was no longer interested in partaking in a conversation with him. Snap knew that, if he wanted to avoid another attack, he'll have to be quiet.

Having no choice, the superhero zoner remained on the ground. He would have tried to get up, but Taima's attack on him left him in more pain, and robbed him of some of his strength. Unable to sleep, unable to keep his eyes closed, all Snap could do was lay there, staring blankly ahead. Realizing just how close he was likely to be to death, knowing that he was most certainly going to be found guilty, he let his emotion overwhelm him and he started to cry.

sss

Rudy couldn't believe they were actually here. He looked around, taking in the sights all around him. It wasn't much to see, at least to anyone who didn't know Snap. But being in here, seeing all this stuff, it spoke volumes.

He, Mint, and Penny were in Snap's treehouse. The same place they had gone to a few times in the past as they tried to discuss what they were going to do. It felt so strange being in here, without Snap. Rudy found himself looking around, half-expecting to see Snap sitting there, smiling at him. But he knew it was not to be. He knew he would never see Snap in here again.

At least, not unless he and his friends could figure something out in time.

"I still can't believe it.. All that work for nothing." Mint said softly. He looked towards the ground, clenching his teeth. "I thought that we would have found something."

"Well we did find claw marks." Penny pointed out.

"Yeah, but we were kicked out before we could do any further examination." Mint grumbled softly. "And we couldn't even get here early enough, because of my dad and you two had something with your parents as well."

Rudy nodded his head. "School was cancelled and our parents wanted to take us shopping. Of course, they would not leave us alone in the house, and my aunt Tilly couldn't make it."

"Well at least we are here now." Penny said. "We can't dwell on not getting here sooner. We're back in ChalkZone. Let's focus on figuring out our next step."

"If there is a next step. I doubt Dr. Gelcro will allow us back into the hospital to continue our investigation." Mint narrowed his eyes. Rudy could practically feel the anger radiating off the boy's body. "He seems so determined to keep us out..."

"He wants justice to be served. He probably thinks we'll get in the way of that." Penny sounded calmer, but she too, had an angered edge to her voice.

"We'll just have to use what we have." Rudy said.

"Which isn't much." Mint pointed out. "We only found some claw marks, but that isn't enough to..."

"We can use that to try to figure out a probable list of suspects." Penny said. Rudy and Mint stared at her in confusion. They didn't know how claw marks were going to help them. Many zoners had claws. "We can't use the fireworks anymore. It's the only thing we have left."

Rudy flinched at this. He recalled his failure at finding out more about the white flame fireworks. Well, mostly a failure. He recalled that the main reason Xannon chased him wasn't what he thought initially. Xannon wasn't chasing him because he was offended specifically, but because, as he found out when he wasn't panicking so much, the metal zoner thought he had stolen from him.

It had taken him a while to escape Xannon. The large, insectoid zoner was difficult to outmanuever. Even when he and Ripclaw ended up in the sewers, it was hard to lose him. It took the strong stench of the sewers for the zoner to start to lose interest and back away. He and Ripclaw remained underground until they were certain they were safe. Then they came back onto the street, shaken, but alive.

It was only after they came back to the surface that he overheard Xannon from a distance make some kind of cry about how he was going to find out who stole his fireworks. It was the only piece of evidence that he could get. He guessed that the culprit was the one who stole the fireworks.

He had thought about asking Xannon about who did it, but he felt that was a bad idea. He couldn't risk going up against Xannon again. That zoner very nearly tore him apart. Plus, if Xannon knew who stole it, he would have likely gone after them. Or she. He still wasn't sure of Xannon's gender, but right now, that was of little importance.

He told Mint and Penny as soon as he could. He was glad to hear that Mint did not bear any ill will against him for what happened to Ripclaw. But the kid was still upset and took some pleading from him and Penny to prevent him from going after Xannon.

Rudy knew that his evidence would do little to help them. But how could claw marks help? Claws were not an uncommon feature in ChalkZone. Same thing with the Real World. Plenty of creatures had claws, and nails as well. He wondered how Penny intended on using the claws to create a list of suspects.

Turning his attention back to Penny, Rudy said, "Penny..how do you propose we use these claw marks?"

"Yeah. I don't know how they could possibly help." Mint said.

Penny stared at the two, giving them an expression that told the two that she had thought really hard on this. There was that shine of determination that they themselves were fighting to keep. "It is true. Many zoners have claws as part of their design. However, those claw marks can still tell us a few things about the zoner."

Mint and Rudy looked at each other, and then back at Penny. They waited for her to continue.

"First off, we have to remember the size. The claw marks weren't very big. The gashes that we noticed were just a few milimeters wide, so the claws can't be very big." Penny said.

"But large zoners can have claws that taper off to small points." Mint said.

"That is true. That leads me to the second clue." Penny said, raising her finger. "The way the claw marks taper off, it is unlikely that a large zoner was responsible. It is clear that a lot of force went behind that mark, and a large zoner would have not only dug in much deeper, but longer as well. So the zoner responsible can't be very large."

Rudy leaned forward. "How large would you say the zoner was?"

Penny narrowed her eyes, rubbing her chin. "Judging from the claw marks, I'd have to say the zoner is likely not much larger than Snap. At most, our size."

Rudy was a little surprised at this. He didn't expect the culprit to be so small. Then again, should he be surprised? A zoner's size did little to hide how dangerous they may or may not be. He recalled the small dinosaurs Mint drew that distracted him. They were tiny, but they were still pretty formidable.

"The other thing I noticed..." Rudy turned his attention back to Penny, who had begun to speak again. "The number of claw marks. There weren't three, which is the most common number of claws children tend to give their creations. There were four of them." She looked over at Mint and Rudy, as if to make sure she had their attention. "Who do we know that fits this description? Who do we know is not very large, and has four claws on their hands, paw, or feet?"

Rudy lowered his head, letting his informatoin sink in. He tried to think of a zoner that matched that description. He had seen a lot of zoners here in ChalkZone over the years. But very few correlated with what Penny had told him. Some that came up were impossibilities as they lived in other parts of ChalkZone and were on good terms with them, or they were busy with something else.

He didn't give up, though. He kept thinking as hard as he could. He looked over to his side, seeing Mint was trying as well to thin of someone. He didn't seem to have much luck. He turned back to Penny. He couldn't tell if she had her suspicions or not, but it was clear she was curious about what he and Mint came up with.

Rudy felt his head begin to ache as thoughts churned through his head. There had be someone, anyone, who matched this description. What zoner do they know that was small and had four claws at the end of one or more extremities? Who did they know that could have made those marks, was sneaky enough to steal from a powerful insectoid zoner, and was smart enough to set up explosions and yet not get caught in it themselves?

Suddenly Rudy took in a sharp breath. He felt as though his heart stopped beating. His eyes bulged. He looked from Penny to Mint, and then turned his gaze downwards. His heart pounded against his chest as realization struck him.

He shook his head in denial. No, it couldn't be... could it? He tried to think of someone else. Anyone else. But no matter how hard he tried, he always came back to the same conclusion. There was one zoner who fit the requirements. One zoner who could make a replica of the marks, and it would match perfectly. A zoner whom they had spoken to before, who had offered help, and had shown concern towards Snap.

Rudy raised his head up slowly. He looked back at his friends, who were waiting for him to say something. He took in a few breaths, trying to settle himself down. He could feel his heart racing faster, twisting, feeling as though it was going to rip form his chest. It took all his strength to utter a single word. "S-Sandra..."

At this, silence swept through the treehouse, freezing everyone in it. The look of utter shock and horror plastered over everyone's faces. The realization that Sandra, one of the zoners who had seemingly been on their side, had been possibly linked to the murder of those hospital patients weighed down on everyone's mind.

Could it really be possible? Could Sandra possibly be the culprit? Could she have done all of this, fooling them all?

Rudy found it hard to comprehend. He found it difficult to believe. Sandra had seemed so nice. She had been one of the zoners who supported them, who tried to comfort Snap, who refused to see him as a killer. She never once attempted to put the blame on him...

...which is what made her suspicious. Most zoners they ran into thought he did it. Thinking back, it almost seemed as though Sandra was doing whatever she could to keep herself off the suspect's list. While he wanted to attribute it to her just wanting to help out and was truly concerned for Snap's safety, Rudy knew he could not longer shrug her off. He could not deny the facts that had been laid bare before him: Sandra had been linked to the crime.

Rudy felt a burning sensation in his stomach. If Sandra really was responsible... He fought back against the nauseating anger that began to swell up inside of him. He tried his best to keep his body from shaking. But he was unable to completely hide his anger from his friends. Penny and Mint stared at him, their expressions still holding that initial shock, but also now showing concern for him.

The idea of Sandra playing them this whole time... It began to burn his blood. It took him several seconds to take in a deep breath and try to cool himself down. He had to remind himself it was still speculation. It could have been another zoner. Or perhaps Sandra was trying to attack the real culprit.

Regardless, he knew where they had to go next.

"Do you think Sandra is going to be at her restaurant?" Rudy was shocked at how cold he sounded, almost emotionless. The realization that Sandra, of all zoners, could have betrayed them, weighed so heavily on his mind. He was unable to dismiss the possibility. "I think it should still be the lunch rush right?"

"The end of it, which should work better." Penny said. "It would be hard for any of us to talk to Sandra if we barged in while she was trying to cater to a large host of zoners."

"Yeah, that's true." Rudy said, nodding his head in agreement. "We would have a difficult time them." He sighed and lowered his gaze. "It's still hard to believe that Sandra could have..." He stopped himself. "Well we won't find anything out standing here." He turned his gaze to his friends. "Come on. Let's pay Sandra a visit."

Penny and Mint looked at each other, then back at Rudy. Narrowing their eyes, they nodded their heads once. Wordlessly, the three climbed out of the tree house and headed off in the direction of Sandra's Alcove. Rudy narrowed his eyes. Sandra would have a lot of explaining to do.

sss

Sandra.. The more Mint thought about that name, the more his blood heated up. He was in as much disbelief as his friends. Sandra had seemed so helpful and kind. While they did not find any concrete evidence of her causing harm, the mere thought of her doing this, and then acting like nothing was wrong really screwed with his mind.

Mint couldn't help but flashback to when he first came to ChalkZone. He had been tricked and used by Skrawl, sent out to cause destruction in a world he did not think was real. Mint still winced at the awful memory of all the damage he had caused, for a place he thought was just a game.

But he had done worse than that. He had denied it. Even when faced with the truth, even when he saw for himself how real this place was, he still tried to deny it. He tried to delude himself into thinking it wasn't real. He didn't want it to be real. He didn't want to be wrong. He couldn't bear the thought of all that responsibility weighing down on him like that. He had been a coward, running away from the truth instead of trying to understand it more.

He had even lost his mind for a time. He went insane, trying so hard to delude himself into thinking ChalkZone wasn't real. He lashed out at Penny and repeatedly punched her. He had been downright hostile. Even in memory, this incident still frightens him to the core. He could not believe just how hostile he had gotten.

Perhaps this is why he was so angry with Sandra. If she had done wrong, and if she was lying about it, then she was no better than how he had acted at the time. He was practically confronting his past self, in a way. He still hated his past self, and some of that negative feeling was being directed to Sandra herself.

He wanted to try to give her the benefit of the doubt. He and his friends didn't know for certain if she really did do these things. They needed to speak to her first. They would tell her what they found out, and hopefully get some answers from her. If Sandra knew what was good for her, she would speak up, and tell them what they know. If she wasn't responsible, then she better give a good explanation for why those marks appeared in the hospital. If her story is suspicious, then they'd have no choice but to take further action.

As he, Rudy, and Penny made their way towards ChalkZone City, another thought crossed his mind. He still had a nagging feeling about Sandra, something he could not dismiss. There was something familiar about her, and for the longest time, he couldn't quite figure out why.

Now, as they continued to run, as the new discovery swept through his head, something was beginning to emerge. Something he had forgotten about for the longest time. A memory he did not think he even had. And when it all came full throttle, he nearly froze, his blood freezing up.

Sandra...was his creation.

sss

It was quite difficult trying to sleep at night. How could he? The taunts and jeers fillted his head, plaguing his mind. The zoners here hadn't been so kind to him. Taima had beat him more than once, and he had gotten into a scuffle or two with the other inmates. He could still feel the pain of his arm being twisted, of being tossed around like a rag doll. The hurtful words stung him worse than any of his wounds did.

He knew he was going to be in for more of this. He knew that tomorrow would bring more pain. The scariest part of that was, he may not even remember. He'd wake up, especting to see Rudy or Penny or Mint soon, only to find that he was locked up in this place, with no way out, trapped with these zoners who really wanted to hurt him.

There was no escape for him. He couldn't try to get out. This place was too well guarded. Even if he could think of a foolproof plan, there was no way he could do it alone. Who here would want to help him? The few that seemed to sympathetize with were silenced by the crowd, and they likely would not want to take the chance of escape, for the punishment when they were caught was too severe. Snap had a similar fear as well. With his legs as they are, he would get caught very quickly. The guards were already careless before with his wound. They may use it as a form of punishment if he tried to escape.

Plus, if he attempted escape, wouldn't that just make him look even more suspicious in the eyes of the other zoners? They might try to think he was attempting to escape justice or something. Staying put was the best thing he could do at this point.

He recalled that he tried to defend himself a few times during his stay here. As the prisoners kept accusing him, as the wardens kept treating him like crap, as Taima kept beating him up, Snap tried to tell them that he wasn't responsible. He tried to explain to them that killing someone just isn't something he'd do. Heck, he wouldn't even think of hurting someone on purpose.

But those only made their reactions worse. He remembered the pain he got whenever he tried to defend himself. Harder punches, harder kicks, harsher statements. He eventually learned to just take it. As much as it hurt him, he could do nothing except be quiet and not even try to fight back.

He had completely surrendered to Taima. After what happened the last time, he didn't dare try to speak out against Taima or try to correct him. Surprisingly, this didn't result in an increased number of attacks from him. That's not to say it never happened again, but Taima had been, in comparison, more gentle with him. Well, gentle was a bit of a stretch, but still...

Snap looked upwards. Taima had claimed the top bunk. No surprise, considering he was the dominant one of the two. The zoner had already slipped off into dream land, his arm slunked over the side and in front of him. Snap stared at it for a few seconds, and then turned away.

He wished he could get out of here. He wanted to leave. He wanted to go home. But he knew that he could not leave. Not until after his trial. There was no way that he could get out before then. If what the others told him were true, then his trial was tomorrow. Unless there was a delay, but he wasn't going to hold his breath.

What made his stay even more unbearable, aside from the horrendeous way he was being treated here, was the fact that he didn't know what the real culprit was doing right now. Were his friends in danger? Was the culprit planning on another attack? Who else was in danger? When will the culprit stop? Who else had to die before the culprit was finally found and convicted? ...was he truly responsible...?

Snap shook the thought of his head. It was hard for him to ignore, however. The possibility that he really did do something still sometimes entered his mind. Him having amnesia only strengthened this thought. Snap felt his insides churn at the possibility of him being the culprit. If he did do this...then why...?

He tried not to think about it. He tried to relax his mind as much as he could. He could not stop the emotion welling up inside of him, however, and, as he closed his eyes, he could feel tears dripping down his face. A steady stream appeared, and he sniffled.

He had only one hope now, he knew. There was only one way he could get out of this mess. Only one way for him to be proven innocent.

Rudy, Penny, and Mint... They were still searching for clues. They were still trying to uncover the mystery of what really happened that day. They were going to work as hard as they could, and he knew they would not rest until they found out the truth, whether good or bad.

Snap blinked a couple of times, letting the tears continue to fall, unable to completely hold back on the short sobs that escaped his throat. He pulled his blanket over him, ignoring the stinging pain in his legs. He pressed his face against the pillow, crying softly into it. The pain and emotion from all that had happened lately began to weigh down heavily on him, practically suffocating him.

He hoped that Rudy, Penny, and Mint were able to find something. He hoped that they could figure out something that told everyone who the culprit was. He hoped that they could expose the truth of what happened. He hoped that htey could prove that he was not the one who committed that heinous crime.

They were his only hope now. They were ChalkZone's only hope. If they failed, who knows how much worse things were going to get?

Taking in a shuddering breath, Snap closed his eyes and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	20. Interrogation In The Restaurant

I was waiting on a different story. This time, I'm mistaken...

-How You Remind Me, Nickelback

sss

"What? Are you sure?" Penny asked, looking over at Mint with a shocked expression. It was difficult for her to comprehend what he had just told them. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah, I am." He closed his eyes softly. "I would not lie to you about this?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. "Why didn't you say something before?"

Mint reopened his eyes and looked over at Rudy. "Because I wasn't entirely certain." He clenched his teeth and looked away. He closed his eyes again. "Not until now, that is."

Penny and Rudy looked at each other, both confused and surprised by this turn of events. Penny had never expected Mint to tell them something like this. It felt as though they were in some kind of weird dream. She couldn't think of any reason why Mint would hide this information. He said he wasn't certain but..he still should have said something earlier.

If they had known earlier, they might have seen the warning signs before all this had happened. If he had just opened up his mouth and confessed his concerns, they could have used that to help Snap when he was being accused by those other zoners. They could have used this information to track down this zoner and ask questions sooner.

Instead, he was quiet. Instead, he chose to remain silent and not speak up with his concerns. While she was certain Mint might have had some reason, other thing just being unsure, Penny still couldn't help but feel a bit angry with him.

But she did not hold onto that anger for long. He was telling them now. She shouldn't waste time scolding him, and she knew Rudy was aware of this as well. They couldn't afford spend their precious minutes questioning why Mint held back this information. They needed to spend their time learning more about this, as it might hold answers to how to deal with their current predicament.

She knew they would need to act soon. They had been unable to do anything the other day as they found out what time it was, and realized they needed to leave before their parents found them missing from their rooms. They decided it was best to wait until tomorrow. Luckily for them, the school was closed, so they had more time to spare. This time, they should be able to speak with Sandra without fear of interruptions.

"I wish you would have spoken up earlier, Mint. I wish you told us that Sandra was your creation." Rudy said, shaking his head in disappointment. "It would have saved us a lot of trouble, I'm sure."

Mint clenched his teeth at this. "I'm sorry. I just..." He held up his hands for a few seconds, staring at Rudy and Penny. He then lowered them. "I just didn't want to send you all on a wild goose chase. That's all."

Rudy stared at Mint. "I understand." He narrowed his eyes. "But you should still have said something. If Sandra was giving you weird vibes, you should have spoken up. We would have listened. We wouldn't have been angry at you or made fun of you, if that is what you were concerned about." He took a small step forward. "Do you understand, Mint?"

The thirteen year old nodded his head. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry."

Penny decided now was a good time to move on. She didn't want to drag this on for longer than it needed to be. They didn't have an unlimited amount of time to do everything. They needed to get moving now. "Mint, what do you remember about Sandra? When you drew her, what did you create her to be like?"

Mint rubbed his chin thoughtfully. His eyes narrowed, facing towards the ground, looking at nothing. "Well..." He said, in deep thought. "It was several years ago, before I met any of you. I was at my cousin's house, and he wanted me to draw something for him."

"So you drew Sandra?" Rudy asked.

Mint nodded his head. "That is correct. Of course, she didn't have any of the armor she does now, nor did she have the triangular mark on her forehead."

Penny connected the dots immediately. "So your cousin made some modifications of her."

"That is very likely what happened." Mint said. He straightened himself up, folding his arms against his chest. "He probably made the changes after I left. He said he liked the way it was before, and I believed him. But after seeing this..." He turned his head, looking down the street. They were standing not far from Sandra's Alcove. "...well I think it's safe to say that he was not as impressed with Sandra as I initially thought, since he went and altered her design." There was a pause, and then his eyes widened. "I wonder if he did more than just change her appearance..."

Penny shared a quick, confused glance with Rudy. She wondered what Mint could be talking about. She and Rudy were both aware that a zoner could be modified by another creator if said creator got to them before the chalk was erased. Beyond that, they weren't aware of any other changes that could take place. What was Mint referring to?

Mint looked at them both, his eyes still wide. Something was clearly on his mind. He didn't attempt to speak again after a few seconds. He tried a few times, but he would always just shut his mouth, and a few times, he'd look around, as if confused or unsure of how to continue.

The longer Mint stayed quiet, the more nervous Rudy and Penny got. For him to stay this quiet for this long, it made them wonder just what had him so worried. Sandra's physical appearance had been altered, so what else could have been done with her? What would have Mint so worried? The only thing left was...

...her mental state.

Penny's eyes widened in horror at this. "M-Mint? Are you saying that your cousin may have...altered Sandra's..purpose?"

Mint bit his lip. He opened his mouth to speak. No words came out. He shut his jaws, and gulped. Then he nodded his head swiftly.

At this, Penny and Rudy gasped in horror, taking a step back from him. The thought sent cold shivers down their spines. Another creator altering the purpose of someone else's creation? The mere thought of that nearly caused their hearts to stop beating. The very idea of that happening...it was incomprehensible. All this time, they had always thought that the zoner's purpose would always be what the original creator intended.

But now Mint had just thrown them a curveball. He was suggesting something that they thought had been impossible. They were suggesting that a zoner could get hijacked in a sense, hacked and altered, by another creator. Not just physically, but mentally as well. A zoner intended to do one thing would suddenly doing something else, perhaps even the clear opposite of the original creator's intentions.

This could be something as simple as a shy zoner becoming more social, or it could be as dramatic as a firefighter zoner suddenly being transformed into a villain that causes the fires in the first place. The possibilities swam through the kids' heads, filling them with dread.

If that is the case, then what did this mean for Sandra? What did Mint intend for her to do? What did his cousin do when he erased her? What new purpose had she been given?

Penny shivered a little from the thoughts of what could happen. She and Rudy never encountered something like this before, not from what she can recall. There was Skrawl, but Rudy hardly played a role in drawing him, so that didn't really count. There was the time that Rudy tried to fix those drawings, but his input had zero affect on the zoners' mentalities.

So how did Mint's cousin cause such a change? What did he do differently?

For now, however, they would have to worry about that later. If it was at all possible that Sandra was altered, that could lead to some big problems. Penny wondered if the others knew what this could mean. She wondered if they had reached the same conclusions as she had. Judging from their expressions, it was hard to say, so she decided to speak up.

"Do you know what this could mean, guys?"

Mint and Rudy looked over at her. They both wore worried expressions. They soon shook their heads, making it obvious that the two were worried that something bad could come out of this, but unsure of what it could be.

"It means that Sandra might have a conflict of her own mind." Penny said. When the two boys looked at her in confusion, she continued, "Think about it. Mint, you had a very clear intention with Sandra, didn't you?"

Mint nodded his head slowly. "Y-Yeah, I did..." He paused to think, tilting his head upwards. "If I remember right..." He turned his attention back to Penny. "She was intended to be a nurse of some kind. Dragon nurse I mean. A talented healer. I created her to be a part of my cousin's roleplaying game."

"Right. But that's now how she is now, is it?" Penny pointed out.

"No." Mint shook his head.

Rudy looked over at Mint. "She's opened up a restaurant, and is a cook." He paused, as if letting this sink in. "Do you think your cousin did that?"

"He must have. I don't ever recall creating Sandra with cooking abilities." Mint said. "Well outside of healing herbs, I mean."

"Precisely. She was changed." Penny said, raising up a finger. "Your cousin gave her come capabilities, and likely more, that you did not intend. This caused her to change from what you had intended." She furrowed her eyes. "But I'm afraid there is more." Mint and Rudy stared at Penny, their eyes widening in apprehension. Penny bit on her lip, sucking on it. "There is a chance that Sandra is now of two minds."

"Two minds?" Rudy tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

"You mean like..bipolar or something?" Mint inquired.

"Kind of. But not exactly." Penny tried to think of the best way to explain what she was talking about. "What I am saying is that Sandra likely has her original personality that Mint provided, and the altered personality that his cousin gave her, and now they are trying to intermix with one another to create a personality. Unfortunately, the bonding could be unstable, which means that Sandra has likely become unpredictable."

The thought of this sent quivers down all their spines. The idea of an unpredictable zoner was rather uncomfortable. They already knew what an unpredictable zoner could be like. They all had their fair share of dealing with Skrawl. That zoner had been drawn by multiple people with no set personality given to him. No one could have known what he'd be like when he was first erased.

If Sandra had become unpredictable as well... How were they going to deal with her? It was still speculation. Penny could be wrong, and the personality they had all seen her display before was her natural one, not a fake one she came up with. But the possibility still existed, and she knew they would have to be on their toes.

They would need to figure out how to deal with a potentially unpredictable zoenr. As she glanced over to the restaurant not far, as she watched the zoners go in, she knew they would have to be careful. She bit her lip, wondering how they could interrogate a potentially unstable zoner.

"Well we can't stand around here and do nothing." Rudy's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "We need to talk to Sandra before she becomes too busy with the dinner rush."

"That's not going to be for a few hours." Mint pointed out. A quick glance at Rudy made him pause for thought. "But yeah, you're right. We can't wait."

Penny knew they were right. Even though they didn't know how Sandra was going to react, they needed to speak with her. They didn't have much of a choice. There was no time to think and plan. They had to talk now. They would just have to be careful and hope for the best.

Without another word, the group of friends headed towards the restaurant.

sss

"That will be $12 please." Sandra said, smiling the best she could.

"Okay, let me get out my wallet..." Said the zoner in front of her as he reached for his wallet. Behind him, Sandra could see the other members of his group. There must be about six altogether. Soon the zoner handed her the money. "Here you are."

"Thank you." Sandra said. She took the money and put it into her machine. "Have a nice day."

"You too." Said the zoner as he and his friends left, going to one of the tables near the windows.

Sandra took this moment to take in a deep breath and look around her restaurant. She couldn't help but feel a strong sense of pride in what she was able to accomplish. She couldn't believe just how much business and praise she got the past few weeks, especially lately. Her new specialities were reeling in more and more customers, and now it was to the point where she was a talk of the town. Many zoners outside would mention her restaurant and how great it was. She smiled at this. She was glad she could satisfy her customers.

She was happy that she got her machine working again. She knew that was how she was able to draw in more customers. She needed that machine to help her obtain more meat. It was the meat that was the biggest seller. It was the meat that she could do culinary magic with, and make a whole variety of tasty meals.

Her latest product, using meat she had obtained from Doofus Penny, had sold very quickly. She had already run out the zoner's meat to use. Her customers loved it, and the ones who didn't get any were quite disappointed. But there was nothing she could do about it, and they knew it. She promised to get some more as soon as she had the supplies. Obviously, she never told them that the meat came from Doofus Penny. She didn't want anyone to steal the idea from her. She felt such strong pride in her new way of making food; she did not want anyone to take it away from her, to copy her idea and lure away her customers. So it was a well kept secret.

As she went in the back to prepare her latest customers' meals, she couldn't help but overhear some of the things the zones were saying. Her ears twitched as she listened in on the conversation.

"Can you believe it? The jail had apparently postponed Snap's trial." A female zoner said, her voice laced in disgust. "They better have a good reason for it."

"They are probably trying to gather some witnesses or something. It wouldn't be much of a trial if it was barren." The male zoner with her said.

The female zoner shook her head. "Well, as long as he is tossed back in jail where he belongs, I'm fine."

The male zoner looked at her sympathetically. "Don't worry. Snap won't get away with murdering your friend."

Sandra paused for a few seconds, letting this information sink in. So it would seem that Snap's trial was not going to happen today like she had expected, but likely a few days from now. Curious. She wondered what could have caused the delay. She'd just chalk it up to what that one zoner said. They probably need more time or something to set up the trial.

Speaking of Snap, she wondered how he was doing. The little zoner was probably scared and frightened at this point, being trapped in that jail with zoners who believe he was responsible for the loss of their loved ones. The situation sounded horrifying even in thought, but she knew it was necessary to drive home the point of why he shouldn't have wronged her. She would allow the trial to commense and allow him to get sentenced. Then, if she felt that he learned his lesson in time, she would save him from the death penalty. If not...well she hoped they would make it quick.

She still felt some excitement for all of this. She still felt that ruge of adrenaline as she pulled off these stunts without anyone realizing it was her. It was still all sort of a game to her. But she was settling down now, and it no longer gave her the same kind of rush as before. Now she was just hoping it was going to end soon.

She hoped that her methods were able to teach Snap a valuable lesson. She hoped that, by the time the trial came, Snap would be regretful for his actions, for destroying her precious machine. Otherwise, then she would have wasted her time on him. She hoped that he could prove her wrong about him. She hoped that he would surprise her, and show her that he was capable of reasoning and understanding.

But for now, she couldn't worry about it. Snap's trial would be in a few days. She can worry about him later. She would give him some more time to think about what he did. At the moment, paying attention to her restaurant was of a more important, urgent manner.

Suddenly, as she finished delivering the multiple meals to her latest customers, she could hear the sound of the doors squeaking open. She walked towards the curved counter where her register was, turning her head to see who her new potential customers would be.

To her surprise, it wasn't anyone she thought it was going to be. Not a new customer. Not a return customer. Not a regular customer. Instead, it was Rudy, Penny, and Mint. She blinked a few times, wondering what they wanted to talk to her about. She remained behind her counter, staring at them as they approached.

"Hello." Sandra said, raising her hand in greeting. "What did you come to me about?"

"Sandra...we need to talk." Rudy said, his voice rather stern.

Sandra was surprised by the way Rudy said that. And the way they were looking at her puzzled her as well. She did her best not to look unnerved, however, and she offered a small smile. "Okay...let's talk. What did you want to discuss?"

"Where you the one who left claw marks in the ChalkZone hospital?" Came Rudy's question, swift and firm. He stared at her intently, awaiting an answer.

Sandra's eyes widened at this. She looked left and right, ensuring that none of her customers were listening in on this. When she was satisfied in knowing that her customers were too busy talking with each other to pay attention to what Rudy and his friends were saying, Sandra decided it was best to take this talk somewhere more...private.

Sandra waved her hand towards them, ushering them to come with her. "We should talk somewhere more...quiet." She gave a quick, nervous chuckle. "We don't want anyone interrupting us."

The three children stared at her, but they all nodded their heads in understanding. Without a word, albeit a bit slowly, they followed her as she led them in the back. She walked passed the kitchen and a bit down further.

When they came to the first bend, she led them into a small room on the right. An empty room with a single overhead light. She did not have any use for this room yet. With no distractions, it would be the best place for them to discuss topics like this.

"Okay... so, can you repeat the question?" Sandra asked, interlocking her feather fingers.

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly, but soon relaxed them. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "We found some claw marks in the hospital. Well..Penny did." He gestured to the girl.

Sandra looked over at Penny, tilting her head. "Did you, now?"

Penny nodded her head. "Mint and I went in the hospital to try to fiind some clues leading to the culprit who killed some of the hospital's patients. We were able to get into one of the rooms. We found some claw marks."

Mint took a step forward. "We were wondering if you had any insight on where they could have come from."

Sandra stared at them for a few seconds, blinking a couple of times. Then she said, "I'll be happy to give my input."

"Okay then. Let's talk." Rudy said, folding his arms.

"We know you are busy and we don't want to keep you." Penny said. "So we would appreciate it if you answered as quickly as possible."

"No problem." Sandra said, a smile spread across her face. "Now, about these claw marks..."

sss

Rudy narrowed his eyes as he and his friends stood in front of the dragon zoner. They waited patiently for her to respond. She had a lot of explaining to do. He wondered what she was going to say about the claw marks, and whether or not they should believe her words.

Rudy couldn't help but feel a level of anger towards this zoner. When they had wandered into the restaurant, they noticed that Sandra seemed...a bit too cheery for someone who was supposed to be worried about Snap. Not that he expected her to think about Snap twenty-four hours a day, as that would get pretty creepy. But he would have thought that she'd so some concern when they came in.

Instead, while she was surprised, she didn't give any indication that she was worried. No look of sympathy, just surprise. This seemed rather off to him and it made him feel uncomfortable around the zoner. He wanted to take a step back away from her, but he remained where he was, listening to what she had to say.

"In case you are wondering, yes. I'll admit it right off the bat. I did leave the claw marks there." Sandra said, making a gesture or two with her right hand. "However, there is a good reason for that, if you are willing to let me explain."

Rudy cocked up an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Okay, well, I was merely just visiting one of the patients there. Before he was killed that is. I had slipped and fallen, and my feet hit against the bed." Sandra shook her head. "Poor fellow. I must have driven him crazy with the sound of claw scraping metal." She looked back at them. "So yeah, that's how they got there."

Rudy was quiet for a few moments. He looked over at his friends. They were a bit skeptical, but it was clear they all wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. They don't want to make her a suspect so quickly. They needed more information first.

Rudy spoke up after a bit of silence. "Are you sure that these marks don't appear anywhere else? Are you positive that you did not scratch anything else?"

Sandra nodded her head. "I'm sure. It was just a one time accident." She fumbled her hands together, giving a smile to them. "I assure you I learned my lesson the first time."

Rudy wasn't sure what to think. Sandra did say the claw marks were hers. A part of him was sort of glad for that. One less thing she was lying about. But on the other, this still links her to the scene of the crime, which means she could still be lying about something. What if something else had happened? What if she did create more claw marks?

The only way to find out for certain was to check...but Rudy had his doubts that he and Penny would get that far. Dr. Gelcro would certainly stop them. Dr. Crobat couldn't really help them much anymore, either. They would need to try a different tactic...but what, he wasn't sure.

"Have you learned anything else?" Mint asked.

This question came out of the blue. Rudy looked over at Mint, a bit surprised that he thought of asking that. He turned his attention back to Sandra, awaiting her answer.

"I am afraid not. I have heard a few things here or there from my customers, but nothing you didn't already know." Sandra's ears lowered down. "It is a shame what happened with Snap." Her eyes seemed to shine with sadness. She looked over at them sympathetically. "I do hope you find a way to help out your friend."

"So do we." Penny said. "We have been trying so hard lately, but everything seems to come up to a deadend." She bit her lip, looking left and right. "We did find out about some thief that took white flame fireworks."

Sandra's eyes widened for a moment, her ears raising up. Then they lowered and she tilted her head. "White flame fireworks?"

Penny nodded her head. "Yeah. They were what was used against those zoners. The explosives that ripped the place apart."

Sandra furrowed her eyes for a moment, rubbing her chin. She then pulled her head back. "Oh...!" She nodded her head. "Yeah, I remember that now. I think I overheard one of my customers bring that up." She turned her head, looking towards the door. "Speaking of which, I should probably get back to them. I'm sure I have a line out there waiting and.."

"We're still not done. Please..let us ask a few more questions." Rudy pleaded with her. They weren't done with Sandra yet."

Sandra narrwoed her eyes at the humans. She gave a small grunt, showing some small form of impatience. Not something they would expect if she was really all that worried for Snap. "Okay then, continue on. But please hurry. I can't be back here forever."

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly at the zoner. He was beginning to question just how much she thought for Snap. She seemed in too much of a hurry to get back to her customers. Right now, gathering information to help Snap was more important than a few angry customers. But it was clear that Sandra felt differently about it.

But he didn't want to get too upset with her. It could be that she was in a bad mood and was trying to hide it. Maybe she really was worried for Snap, but was attempting to be happier so that she wouldn't pull herself down. And he reminded himself that running a restaurant was hard work. He wouldn't be surprised if Sandra got a bit of emotional abuse from her customers, resulting in a somewhat snarky personality from time to time.

Rudy had his doubts that they would get anything concrete from Sandra. He didn't think that they would solve the case this fast. However, he hoped, they all hoped, that Sandra would do or say something that could provide for them clues to what happened with Snap. Perhaps she would slip up and reveal something she never meant to before.

Even if it was something small, even if it seemed insignificant, every bit of information counts. A part of him was hoping that they would find something with Sandra. They were running out of options.

"I..." Rudy paused, realizing that he didn't have any more questions to ask her. He had asked her to stay out of desperation; he still wanted to speak to her. But with no questions to ask, how was he going to keep her here long?

Luckily, it seemed Penny already thought one up.

Penny looked at Sandra, taking a step forward. "Do you know anyone by the name of Xannon?"

There looked to be a flash in Sandra's eyes, but she shook her head. "Sorry, I do not. Why?"

"He chased me around, thinking I stole his fireworks. You wouldn't happen to know what could have happened to them, do you?" Rudy asked. He did his best to sound as nonthreatening and non-accusing as he could, knowing that Sandra's mental state may not be as it appeared. "He was all in a huffy because they were missing." He paused. "I wonder if he was connected to what happened with Snap."

"It is very possible." Sandra said, nodding her head in agreement. "Are you going to talk to... oh wait, you did, didn't you?"

Rudy flinched. "More like got chased by him. Which I already told you."

"Oh yes..yes..." Sandra nodded her head a few times. "Okay. Well, I am sorry I can't provide anymore information on him." Sandra smiled sadly at the children. "Really, I am. I wish I knew more. If I did, I would have told you."

Rudy nodded his head slowly. "I'm sure you would."

Rudy wasn't entirely sure how much of the dragon zoner's words he should believe. On the one hand, she did sound sincere, and he could see that she was feeling some sadness for them. But how genuine was it? How much of it was she actually feeling? Rudy did his best to push the thoughts aside. There was likely an explanation for all of this. For all he knew, this whole thing could have been an accident and...

...no. The fireworks were no accident. They were placed in the right position to tear that building apart once they were set off. They were all linked together. There was no way that was by mistake. Someone had done that on purpose.

"Why didn't you show up at the party earlier?" That was the first question Rudy had thought of. He realized it sounded a bit too accusatory, so he quickly modified it. "Er, I mean...did you run into any trouble on the way there? Did you see anything suspicious?"

Sandra folded her arms against the metal plate on her chest. "I do believe I answered this question before. And I'll say it again. No I did not. I was on my way as usual, and everything was pretty much normal."

Rudy didn't recall asking this question before, but perhaps he had and just forgot. It had been weeks after all. He nodded his hiead slowly. "I see. So you saw nothing." He raised his hands up in gesture. "Nothing that shouldn't have been there? No zoner in an unusual location?"

Sandra shook her head. "I told you everything I knew. I'm not sure why you are asking me again."

There was a tinge of frustration in the dragon's voice. It reminded Rudy of how often he and his friends asked the zoners questions. Even their plan of waiting and asking later on didn't work as much as they hoped, as the zoners still remembered being asked and were just as annoyed at them asking the same questions over and over. That tactic yielded no results, and he could see that talking with Sandra again was likely going to lead them to a deadend as well.

But he wasn't ready to give up. Not yet. There had to be a question they could ask that would reveal something..anything to them. Something that Sandra had neglected to tell them, whether though secrecy or she just plain forgot.

"Did you find out anything regarding that complete scan? I don't think you told me all about that." Sandra said.

Rudy looked at his friends, each of them wincing slightly at the memory. The full brain scan... That had been one of their few hopes in proving Snap's innocense. They had hoped that the scan would show up with something that would help them. But sadly, just like all the others, it had turned up negative, with no indication there was anything wrong with this brain. This only added fuel to the fire as more and more zoners began to hate Snap.

Dr. Crobat had once told them about something he noticed on the scan before. A blip, an anomaly, but it was only there for a few seconds, and then it vanished. Some of the doctors thought that the bird zoner was simply seeing things. Rudy and his friends weren't sure what to make of it. Without having seen it themselves, and with no footage, it was hard to tell if Dr. Crobat really had seen it, or if it was a trick of the eyes.

If there was a blip, though, then it meant that something could be wrong with their friend. But not in the way they had originally imagined it. The possibilities of what it could mean weighed heavily on his mind, sending a cold chill up his spine.

The idea of the culprit having some kind of...control like that, it was an uneasy thing to think about. He hoped that wasn't the case. But at the same time, they all knew this was most likely what was going on. After all, how else can the culprit repeatedly ensure that Snap's scans were always negative, and yet still induce amnesia on him?

He was about to say something when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He thought back to what Sandra had said. Full brain scan... He didn't recall him and his friends telling Sandra about that. Yes, they told her about a scan, but they never mentioned it was a completed scan. He didn't recall telling her when a completed scan would be done. So how did Sandra...?

Sandra seemed to notice his expression. She waved her hand out in front of her. "Well I thought I heard someone around here mention it and..."

Penny raised up her hand, drawing Sandra's attention to her. "No need to explain. We just tend to forget how information bounces around here." She looked all around, as if to emphasize her point. "Anyway, as you could very well imagine, they showed up negative. But Dr. Crobat mentioned something quite interesting."

"Oh?" Sandra asked. "What did he tell you?"

"He said there was an anomaly in the scan. A blip that only he saw. I am not sure if we told you this before or not." Penny said. "Everything's kind of muddled up lately, with trying to find out what happened and all."

Sandra nodded her head. "I can attest to that." She rubbed her head. "I have a bit of a headache myself. You won't believe how hard it is to memorize twenty orders at once."

Mint gave a light chuckle at this. "Oh I can very well imagine."

Sandra smiled at this. She turned her attention to the door for a second, before looking back at the children. "Is that all you would like to ask me? I really need to get going before my customers tear us to pieces."

"I doubt they will do that, but..." Rudy tried to think of anything else he could ask. To his disappointment, nothing came to mind. He sighed, knowing he couldn't keep the zoner any longer. "No, we..."

"Wait, I do!" Penny cried, holding up a finger. "If you don't mind that is." Sandra stared over in her direction. "Last question. I promise!"

Sandra stared at her, and then, slowly, nodded her head. "Go ahead..."

"I'll be quick about it." Penny said. She cleared her throat and said, "All I am curious about is what time you arrived at the party." At this, Sandra snapped her head back, staring at Penny in confusion. "I'm just trying to figure out what time you arrived, as I already know when Snap did. That would give us a window that we could look into about when the culprit could have struck."

"I see..." Sandra said, placing her hand on her cheek and tilting her head. "Seems a bit confusing, but okay." She folded her arms again, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of an answer. She then said, "I would have arrived before Snap, naturally, being the hostess as I was. I believe it was around 1:30 I arrived, as I was getting everything set up."

"1:30 exact?" Penny asked.

"Around there." Sandra made an expression as she tilted her hand from side to side. "Give or take, maybe a couple minutes, at most ten." She added.

"Okay then. Thank you." Penny said.

Rudy looked over at Penny, unsure of why she asked that question. Mint also seemed puzzled. Neighter of them knew what good that was going to do them. Penny looked over at them, and from her expression, it was clear she had some kind of idea in her mind, but she didn't want to talk about it here. Upon seeing Sandra, Rudy deduced why.

"So is that the last question?" Sandra held out her hands, looking at each human child.

Mint nodded his head. "Yes. Thank you for your time."

"Yeah. We'll get out of here now." Rudy said. "We don't want to keep your customers waiting long, since we know how much that bothers you."

Sandra chuckled as the children started to leave. "Yeah. I might have exaggerated a bit, but..." Suddenly her eyes widened as they began to turn down the hallway. "Not that way!" She cried, holding out her hand. The children froze, looking at her in confusion. Sandra quickly motioned in the same direction they came from. "That is the way out!"

Rudy and the others stared at the zoner, a bit startled by the way she had reacted. They wondered why she was so particular about the way they went. This restaurant had a back entrance, right? So what did it matter?

But the last thing they wanted to do was provoke her. They did not want to do anything that would make her suspicious or give her any reason to behave differently than she already was. If she was so adamant about what way they went, then they would listen to her. The group veered off in the opposite direction, going where Sandra indicated them to.

"See you later!" Rudy called out, waving his hand.

Sandra nodded her head once, smiling. She started to follow them, heading to the front to greet any new customers she might have. "I'll see you all around!" She said, smiling at them. "I wish you all the best of luck!"

"Thank you!" Penny said, with Mint and Rudy nodding their heads, silently echoing what Penny said.

With that, the three friends exited out of the restaurant, making their way to a quiet place where they could continue their discussion without Sandra's ears able to listen in on them.

As they headed down the street, Rudy paused and looked back at the restaurant. For a split second, he thought he could see Sandra staring at him, but he realized that was impossible. The glass that she chose prevented anyone from seeing inside, a way of giving her customers some form of privacy. It must be just his imagination. He turned and walked away, regrouping with his friends.

sss

Little did Rudy know, he really was being watched. Standing in front of one of the windows, positioned beside one of the empty tables, Sandra stared out, watching as the children left. Her eyes narrowed, refusing to look away. Even when they disappeared, she still looked out the window.

At the moment, she did not have any new customers, and most of the others had left. The few that remained, she ignored their stares. She remained focused on the window, staring off in the direction that Rudy, Mint, and Penny had left in, her tail swishing from side to side slowly. Her mind rushed with thoughts, and as she sifted through them, her eyes narrowed further as the issues became more and more apparent to her.

She had not expected to be interrogated today, and she had a feeling this might not be the end of that. The children may come back for more, especially if they thought of questions they hadn't asked before. She was going to need to be more prepared. She got caught off guard today, which nearly caused her to say somethign that could have screwed things over for her.

She was proud of herself, surprised that she had been able to hold off the children as well as she had. She told them what she wanted them to know, and she never once slipped up and told them she was the one who set off the explosion. She made sure her answers were as consistent as possible.

Still, there was a part of her that was becoming worried. What if they did find out something crucial? What if they found out about her involvement? How would the other zoners react? Would they listen to reason? Probably not. She'd be written off as just another murderer. And Snap..he'd probably never see her again. She had tried to convince herself that he and the other zoners would be understanding, but she knew that she could be very wrong on this. They might not listen to her. Perhaps it was best she did not reveal the truth to anyone.

It was going to get harder to get Snap out of jail if she did not confess or provide a suspect of her own. But...she'd think of something. She did not want Snap to die, if she could avoid it. She knew he didn't want to die either. She just needed to think of a scapegoat. A zoner whom they all knew and disliked, who would cause mischief left and right.

Sandra's eye twinkled. She knew of one such zoner, someone who would be perfect. She would have to go after him later, though. Right now, she had to watch her restaurant, keep an eye on things here and make sure that everything was fine and taken care of.

She turned and began to walk away, her arms folded behind her back. She stopped, and looked back towards the window. She narrowed her eyes softly, staring out the window, back to where the children disappeared to. She stared in that direction for a few seconds, and then she turned away and walked off.

sss

Mint was rather disappointed with their interrogation at Sandra's Alcove. He had hoped they would figure out something different, or at least something useful. Instead, they only had a rehash of what they were told. Anything new Sandra told them, it was nothing in particular they could use to help them.

But Penny seemed to think there was potential in one of the questions. She had asked a question that seemed quite mundane and useless. Yet...the way she looked when she said it, the tone she used, it was as if she felt that this is the one question that could lead them down the path of discovery. He wasn't sure how she thought it was possible, but he was certain they would figure it out soon enough.

He leaned back, looking over at Penny and Rudy. They had been talking for a couple of minutes. He remained relaxed and mostly quiet, allowing them to speak to each other without interruption. Rudy had been trying to guess why Penny asked about the time, and so far he hasn't had much luck. Then again, neither had he when he tried a couple times.

"Okay, I give up. Why did you ask about the time Sandra arrived?" Rudy asked.

Mint looked over at Penny. "I would like to know as well. What makes you think we can find anything out from what?" He held his hand out in gesture. "As you recall, we already looked at the footage. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

Penny looked at the two boys. She appeared to be deep in thought, her eyes partially closed. She took in a deep breath and sigh. "Yeah, I imagined you two wouldn't get it." She reopened them, but her gaze was still towards the ground. "That is why I wanted us to meet back at the treehouse before I told you guys."

"Seems inefficient since we have to go back to the city anyway." Mint said as he folded his arms. "We could have just found a place here and spoke, couldn't we?"

Penny shook her head. "I didn't want to risk Sandra hearing us."

"She could have followed us here." Mint said.

Penny smiled at this. "Unlikely. You heard how she was. She really didn't want to wait too long before she could get back to her customers." She raised her head up slightly. "Do you really think she'd want to waste time coming all the way out here? Besides," She spread her hands out. "We are practically in the middle of nowhere. There's no way she could sneak up here without one of us spotting her."

Mint realized Penny did have a point there. All they could have to do is look outside, and they'd be able to tell if she was coming or not. With such a small house, there was little place Sandra could sneak through, and the branches outside were quite noisy. She'd give herself away very easily, especially since the television was shut off.

Mint had to wonder what Penny's thoughts were. Why had she asked about when Sandra arrived at the party? What could that tell them about what happened? It would just tell them when she arrived, and nothing more. She didn't know what Penny was getting at.

But he did not question her. From what he had learned about her over the years, is that she can be quite clever. Memories flashed back to him of when she and him dueled in ChalkZone City. Rudy had been grounded, unable to get into ChalkZone, thanks to a prank he himself pulled. Penny and Snap came into the city when he was attacking and wanted to try to stop him. He and Penny fought, and she had tricked him, got the upperhand, and sent him sprawling into the ground with a net around his body. He had thought she was just running away like a coward, but she was actually setting up a trap, and it worked.

Lesson learned that day: Penny can think of clever plans when he least expected it. He was not ever going to forget that lesson.

Before he could speak, Rudy beat him to it. "So Penny... What is your idea?" Penny looked over at him, waiting for him to continue. "I mean..you wouldn't have asked that if you didn't have a plan. I saw the look in your eyes. You're up to something. So spill it. What is your plan?"

Penny paused as if for dramatic effect. Mint and Rudy moved in closer when she gestured to them. She turned her head from side to side, as if she was making double sure that Sandra could not hear them. Mint realized this must be really important if Penny didn't want to risk Sandra knowing about this.

"I needed a time frame to work off of for when we check the footage again." Penny said.

"We already checked it and.." Mint started to say.

"Yes, for Snap, and the culprit. But not for anyone else." Penny said, raising a finger as she smiled in Mint's direction. "But now we have someone else we need to look for."

Mint and Rudy glanced at each other.

"So wait, are you saying we should look for Sandra in the videos?" Rudy asked, leaning forward, staring at Penny, wide-eyed. The girl looked at him and nodded once. Rudy said, "Why exactly would you want to do that? If we find that she was there at the time she said, then how was that..." His voice trailed off, his eyes widening as if in realization. "You...you want to try to find an inconsistency with that, don't you?"

Mint widened his eyes at this. He looked at Rudy, and then back at Penny. "Is this true, Penny?"

Penny stared at the two boys. She remained quiet, as if to allow them time to let the information sink in. Mint could feel himself nearly start shaking as he anticipated the answer. He was really curious to know what Penny had to say. Then, slowly, she nodded her head once, making their eyes widen further. A quick, simple yet powerful word escaped from her mouth. "Yes."

"I get it..." Rudy said. "You want to see if her story matches up. If we find her in the footage at a different time than what she said..."

"...then that means she was lying to us." Mint concluded.

Penny nodded her head. "It would not be enough to prove she did anything wrong, and frankly, I'm not sure myself if she is responsible for anything. But, if we want to find out what happened, everything must be ruled out."

Rudy said, "That is true. If Sandra really is innocent, then we would need to prove it so we can completely rule her out." He paused, and then frowned. "But if she did play some kind of role.."

"Then we need to find that out as well." Penny said. The three friends looked at each other, silent, similar thoughts moving through their heads. "The best place to start is that street footage. Provided that it's still there, we need to go there and check it, and mark down any time that Sandra shows up."

"Or we can just take the footage." Mint suggested.

Rudy shook his head. "That might be a bad idea. We were already spotted in that area. The zoners might get upset if we stole footage from there. Since they know we're siding with Snap, theymight think we were up to something."

"That's true." Mint folded his arms, trying to think of a solution. It would be a wise move to bring the footage with, as he knew memory alone wouldn't be enough if they decided to confront Sandra again. They needed a physical copy they could show her. "Is there anyway we could copy the footage over? I mean, create a copy of it so we can look at it later?"

Penny thought about this for a moment. Then she said, "That is a good idea, Mint. But we'll have to think of a way to do it without drawing attention to ourselves."

"I'm sure we will think of something." Rudy assured her. "And when we do, we'll analyze that footage. If Sandra did show up at the party earlier or later than when she said, then we will know about it."

Mint looked out of the window, staring out at the plains that could be seen even from behind the thick tree branch. He knew Rudy was right. If Sandra did lie to them, then they will find out sooner or later. The footage time stamp does not lie. If they found something on the footage that goes against what Sandra said...

...then it was time for them to rethink their investigation plans.


	21. Suspect

Your halo slipping down to choke you now.

-The Noose, A Perfect Circle

sss

Mint walked along side his friends as they headed into ChalkZone City. He had offered them a ride on the red pterosaur, but they insisted on walking. Something about it making them look less conspicuous. Mint thought this was a pretty strange reason. After all, he and Penny rode in on the red pterosaur before and no one seemed to really care. In the end, he dismissed it as them just being nervous around the pterosaur and he dropped the subject.

They were headed back to where Shrapnel Tower once stood. He imagined the place had been torn apart by now, what with the collapse and the zoners wanting to have that area cleaned out since it was already scraped for clues. The camera nearby, however, should be unaffected, and easily obtained.

He hoped that they would find something on that footage that could help them. Ever since he concluded that Sandra could be unstable, he had this funny feeling in his stomach that she was, somehow, involved.

Naturally, Rudy and Penny, though they shared his concerns, did not want to jump to conclusions that easily. Sandra was their first actual culprit, the first one they could put a name to, but that did not mean she was the one. An unstable mind did not automatically prove she did anything.

That was why they were headed back into ChalkZone City, to get that footage. They need to look at the footage and see what time Sandra had arrived at the party. If Penny's hunch was correct, they should be able to see Sandra going into the party and be able to get a time stamp. Just in case, she recommended they look at the footage within the time frame of the party up to the explosion to see if she disappeared out of the building at any given time. If there was an inconsistency, and she showed up too early or too late than what she said, then they would investigate further.

Mint knew, as well as Penny and Rudy, that this inconsistency would not really mean that Sandra was involved. After all, it's likely that she would have forgotten the exact time and was just trying to wing out.

Still, it could be a clue, and with how desperate they had gotten lately, any clue was worth grabbing onto. Snap's trial may have been delayed, as they found out from some passing zoners before, but they still had such a small window of chance. It was time they try to pick up the pace.

"Okay, we're here." Penny said, stopping in her tracks, her eyes facing forward. Mint and Rudy stopped behind her, and they looked out at the scene.

They could see the damaged building from here. The smoke still pillowing out even after all this time. Some wisps of heat clung strongly in the air, moving around them. Some of the building still stood, but since the collapse from before, it had fallen into pieces, looking even more torn apart than before. The wreckage before their eyes sent chills of horror down their spines as they remembered what had taken place here not so long ago.

They looked left and right, noting some of the nearby zoners moving around. A few of them stopped and stared at them. Some were simply curious by their presence. But a few others were glaring at them almost accusatory. It was as though they thought they were up to something.

Mint would not be surprised if that were the case. He had a feeling that, had he and his friends been zoners, they would have stopped them and dragged them off, perhaps to question them why they were there. But them being creators, that kept them at bay. Him being the former Enemy Creator, and some of these zoners clearly showing some fear towards him, that also helped in getting the zoners to leave them alone.

He felt bad, though. He didn't want these zoners to think they were the bad guys. They just wanted to show them that Snap was innocent. He and his friends were aware of how some of the zoners felt with them defending Snap, whom the zoners blamed for the explosion at the party. The only thing keeping Mint from getting overwhelmed was the knowledge that, once they found proof of Snap's innocense, it would all be over.

The three of them resumed walking, heading down the street and towards the pile of rubble. They did not try to move around and go in from a different angle. This time, their destination was not the remains of Shrapnel Tower, but the camera located not far from it.

They went towards the street light positioned not far from the building. It had been spared most of the damage, which was how the camera was still working. When they got closer, they could see that the small, black box that was the camera was snuggled in tightly in a hole made in the street light. It was rather hard to miss.

Mint had to wonder something. How was it that the security cameras in the hospital were affected, but not this street light? Then he recalled that the culprit's machine was destroyed. He settled himself down, feeling a bit silly for forgetting that detail.

Rudy went up to the street light and reached towards the camera. As he put his hand around it, he turned his attention to Mint and Penny. "We need to create a copy of this thing. One of you, draw a..." He closed his mouth as he tried to think of the word."

"Don't worry, Rudy." Penny said, taking a step forward. She raised up her magic chalk. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Thank you, Penny." Rudy said.

Mint and Rudy watched as Penny began to draw a device that would allow them to create a copy of the footage. They did their best to ignore the stares they got from the zoners around them. Right now, they shouldn't concern themselves with that. They were on a mission.

sss

It hadn't taken Penny long to get the footage copied. Even with some of the zoners approaching them, asking about what they were doing, they were able to stay focused on the task at hand. Before long, Penny had managed to get what they wanted, and it was time to head out again.

Mint was frustrated with how often they were talking back and forth between ChalkZone City and Snap's treehouse. Rudy did acknowledge how annoying it can be, and how much time they were using up. But he expressed concern that, since the machine is up and running again based on what they heard, the footage might get screwed up if they remained in the city. They still weren't sure of the culprit, and any zoner they had run into could be the one responsible.

They were safer at the tree house. It was much easier speaking about this sort of stuff there, where they had a better idea of who was aroudn, making it much harder for the culprit to spy on them, or any of their minions, if they had any. The thought of there being more than one culprit chilled them, and they hoped that this wasn't the case.

The three of them sat down on the bean bag chairs, trying their best to get comfortable. They knew they were going to be here for a long time, and they had a feeling that by the time they found anything, it may be time to leave. If they had to leave before they could see Snap again, they hoped they would at least find something on the cameras that could help them.

Penny took out a black tape, a copy of the footage that came from that street camera. She popped it into the VCR located underneath the television, the VHS fitting quite snug into it. Then she pressed the power button on the remote. There was a flash of snow on the screen, then a picture began to show. The three friends leaned back on the bean bag chairs and watched.

Mint wasn't sure how long they had been watching. So far, nothing unusual came onto the cameras. Usually it was just nothing, showing the building and that's it. On occassion, they would see a zoner walk by, which was not unusual. It may not have been a busy street, but seeing a zoner did not set off any alarms.

After a while, perhaps ten minutes, of mostly nothing, Rudy grabbed the remote and pushed it on fastforward. It was obvious why he did it. There was no way they could sit here for six to eight hours watching the footage on the tape. Fast forwarding it was a good idea.

Other than seeing zoners move faster and more jerky due to how quick the footage was playing, nothing else seemed to change about it. They could see the time stamp zipping along quickly, static lines moving up and down as a result of the speed up. And as time passed, they didn't seem to catch anything unusual.

Mint felt time get muddled up in his head as he stared at the screen, watching the footage. He and his friends remained quiet as they watched, unable to look away. Mint could feel his eyes start to become a little heavy. Staring at the screen, watching sped up footage of what was a mostly unused street with few zoners was starting to get to him. He opened up his mouth and yawned, trying his best not to fall asleep and close his eyes.

Rudy and Penny looked over at him, soft glares on their faces. But they did not look much better than himself. Both had a dreary look in their eyes as they watched the footage being played out before them. As time passed, this only got worse. Soon, before he knew it, somewhere close to two hours passed, and they still found nothing in the footage. Well nothing that was going to help them anyway.

After a while, Penny said, "Perhaps we should have fastfowarded it to the time when Sandra said she arrived..."

Rudy nodded his head. "That..would have been nice." He stretched out his arms. Despite his efforts, he was unable to stop his mouth from stretching into a yawn." It would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"Well," Mint spoke up, moving his hand forward. "Why don't we just shut it off and fastforward for a little while? The VHS will move more quickly if it's turned off."

"Good idea." Penny said, and she quickly shut off the tape. Mint never thought he'd be so happy to see a dark screen. Penny held up the remote and pressed a button. "Okay, let's fastforward this for about ten minutes and see what we have..."

Mint and Rudy did not protest. The three friends listened to the VCR's wheels turning and grinding as it fastforward. The familiar, high-pitched squeal of an old fashioned VHS tape could be heard. It brought back memories from when they were children, but they did not dwell on those for long. They kept listening, waiting for the right time to press play again.

Then the ten minutes were up. Penny pressed the stop button, and the gerk sound of the tape pausing its internal wheels was heard. She then pressed play, and the screen lit up again. They watched and waited, knowing that the key to what happened could lie in this footage.

sss

Rudy was getting frustrated. After several fastforwards and pausing, there was only one thing he and his friends had discovered so far. One thing that offered any potential of a clue.

Sandra had not shown up at the time indicated.

When they found that out, they had glanced at each other, each of them feeling their heart clench. They did their best not to jump to conclusions, however, knowing full well that Sandra could have just forgotten. Maybe she came in a while later, and with all that happened, thought she came in earlier than she did. They continued watching the footage, waiting to see when she did come into the picture.

But the more they watched, the more that Sandra didn't show up, the more that Rudy couldn't help but feel something was off. He could understand if Sandra was late. Everyone can be late to things. Work, parties, presentations. It happened.

Yet, to get the time this wrong... To be this off... Rudy wasn't sure just how much leeway he should grant Sandra before getting suspicious.

They had searched through about four hours of footage thus far. None of them held anything unusual. Just zoners coming into the party. Snap, of course, hadn't arrived yet; he would not show up until later. But where was Sandra? When did she come into the picture? Just how off was she with her claim of when she arrived at the party?

Perhaps they had missed something earlier. They had turned the tape off a few times to move through the footage faster. It was very likely that they had overlooked something, and that Sandra did arrive earlier.

Rudy did his best to control his frustration. He did not want to rush things along too fast, or they might miss something. He did not want to let his frustration get the better of him. He continued watching the footage, waiting and hoping to see Sandra on the footage somewhere.

And yet, she never came. No matter how much footage they looked through, no matter how long they stared at the screen, they saw no sign of the dragon coming into the party. They saw one or two other dragon zoners, but none of them looked anything like Sandra. They didn't even see anyone entering from the back. Then again, giving their angle, it was possible that...

"Look!" Penny cried, startling Mint and Rudy. She quickly paused the footage. "There!"

Rudy and Mint looked over at the screen. They stared for only a couple of seconds, and then they looked over at Penny, confused.

"Penny, there's nothing there." Mint said.

"Oh yes there.." Penny looked at the screen. Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh! I paused too late! Here, let me rewind that..." She pressed the button, and the two boys watched the footage move backwards, seeing flashes of color, but nothing specific. Then she paused, freezing on a particular frame. "There, now do you see it?"

The two boys looked back at the screen. After a few seconds, seeing there was no response from them, Penny moved in closer and placed a finger in the top right of the video. The two boys had to move in closer to see what she was talking about. Upon closer inspection, they both widened their eyes as they realized just what Penny was referring to.

On the video, just a little off from where Penny's finger was, they could see something blue. Barely there, a mere smudge on the screen, but there nonetheless. It didn't take them long to realize who it was, and this was confirmed when Penny moved her finger away.

It was Sandra. The dragon zoner was located behind the building, rather than the front. As Penny pressed a button to make the footage move again, this time forward and at a much slower pace, they could see Sandra moving towards the building, and with a slight movement of her arm, they noticed she was opening something up. The only logical conclusion they could come up with was that she was opening up a back door of sorts.

The three friends looked at each other, their minds reeling from this information. Not only did Sandra arrive at the party much later than they thought, at around 4:00ish, much later than she said she had arrived, but she had gone into the back of the building rather than the front.

Why was that? Why did she go to the back? Why not the front? It didn't seem to make much sense to them. She was the hostess, after all. Wouldn't it be considered rude to go in the back? Well they weren't entirely sure how fancy parties work, but they were certain that the hostess was supposed to go through the front door, where they could greet their guests. So why did Sandra go in the back? What was she doing there?

They remained silent for a few seconds, and then they decided it was best to go on. They had some more footage to look at. They wondered if there was anything else on this tape that they should be made aware of.

Fastforwarding, this time, keeping the television on so they could see the moving pictures, they watched as time passed by quickly in the scene before them. Then, not too long afterwards, they could see their friend arriving onto the scene. They froze at this, looking at one another.

The explosion that they had seen before, it ripped through the building. This meant that Sandra had arrived after Snap came into the picture. They recalled seeing Snap going into the building not long before they noticed Sandra. But the realization that Sandra had gotten into the building after him, and the time frame between arrival and explosion was even shorter with Sandra..it made them all wonder.

They stared at each other, each lost in their own thoughts. This still did not prove anything, but it left them all wondering what they should think of it. They began to wonder if there was a connection now, between Sandra and the explosion, or if it was a coincidence.

One thing was for certain now. They now truly had Sandra as a possible suspect. They would need to look into the matter further. But the question on Rudy's mind, and he was certain that Penny and Mint were thnking the same thing, was..where were they going to go from here? What should be the next step that they'd take? They had already spoken to Sandra and she was likely busy again right now. The building itself was largely destroyed, so that wasn't an option. Where else could they go?

Rudy hoped they would figure out a next step soon. Snap did not have that long of a wait.

sss

"So...this is the place.." Penny breathed, staring out at the building in front of them. Rudy and Mint weren't far behind her.

"This is that one fireworks place we haven't yet checked out?" Rudy asked her, looking at her expectantly. Wordlessly, Penny nodded her head. "All right then...let's get going.

The three of them approached a small building that stood before them. The building was one level and long, with a sharply curved roof, looking almost oriental in nature. The building was a bright gold color, and the roof, a deep crimson. It stood out rather well even in the colorful section of ChalkZone City.

They had heard about this place, which they found to be called The Factory. A rather odd name, given that this place sold fireworks and sparklers, but that was not of their concern. This place, despite being so obvious, had been overlooked by them when they were doing their investigation before. They had no idea how they could have missed it, and they felt pretty stupid that they had.

At least they knew about it now, and they could do some searching and talking around here. They had learned of this place on their way through the city as they pondered their next move. They heard the name The Factory and wondered what it was. When they found out it was a place that sold fireworks, they knew they had to come here and do some talking. They needed to learn more about the white flame fireworks.

Penny, being in front of the two boys, reached the door first. She reached forward and placed her hand on the door, made of solid, clear glass. She pushed it open. Her ears were greeted by the jingling sound of a bell hung on a string, signaling to the shop keeper that a new customer had arrived.

The three of them walked further into the building, looking around at the store. They could see several aisles filled with boxes of what they new to be fireworks and sparklers, but that wasn't all the store had. Some other oriential items, like small statues of chinese dragons and some beautiful candles, were laid out on display on multiple small, glass tables, arranged in a particular way.

Penny guessed that, from this and from the foreign lettering they could see, this store was drawn by someone in the eastern part of the world. Perhaps China or Japan. A foreign exchange student, obviously, due to the location in ChalkZone. She hoped that the zoner drawn would be able to understand at least some english, otherwise it was going to be pretty hard to communicate with them.

Not long after, due to hearing the shop's bell ringing, the shopkeeper came towards the front, emerging from an open door that Penny guessed led to the storage room. The zoner they saw was not the type of zoner they'd expect in an oriental store like this.

The zoner was a lion. Tall but a little thin, especially for a lion. It was clear that this lion was drawn with the intention for speed, not strength. He looked almost like a crossbred between a lion and a cheetah. The zoner had a comically poofy mane, and wore a rather friendly expression.

"Hello there!" The lion greeted, clasping his hands together. "I'm glad to have some visitors. I don't get much. My name is Arno! And you three must be the creators I heard about."

Rudy nodded his head. "Hey, Arno. We came because we wanted to ask you a question."

"Sure!" Arno spread his hands out. "Anything for you!"

Rudy smiled at this. Then his eyes furrowed slightly. "I'm sure you know about the explosion at the party?"

The friendly smile faded away almost immediately. Arno narrowed his eyes, nodding his head rigidly. "Yes, I'm very well aware." He paused for a moment, a look of guilt flashing in his face. "I..have heard it. Many times."

Mint was the next one to speak up. "I'll cut right to the chase." He moved in closer, straightening himself up as if to make himself look more assertive and confident. "Do you sell any white flame fireworks?"

The lion widened his eyes at this. "Did you say white flame fireworks?"

Mint nodded his head. He glared at the zoner. "You don't happen to sell them, do you?"

"W-Well I.."

"Do you?" Mint's voice was a bit louder and more stern this time.

Penny, not wanting this to escalate further, walked towards Mint and put her hand on his shoulder. Mint glared at her, but his expression quickly softened up. He sighed and looked back at the lion, giving him an apologetic expression.

"I am sorry for that. Let me explain better." Mint cleared his throat. "You see, we found out that the explosion was caused by fireworks, and reports indicated white flames, not the traditional red, yellow, and orange as you would expect."

"We have been doing what we can to learn more." Rudy said, holding his hand out in gesture. "We were hoping you might be able to help us. You're the only person selling fireworks we hadn't yet spoken to." He rubbed the back of his head. "The last person we spoke to, Xannon, he wasn't exactly a friendly guy..."

At this, Arno's face paled. "Xannon?! Why did you try talking to him? That guy is delusional!"

"Because he was the one zoner we heard about that sold white flame fireworks. Rudy here went to try to speak with him, hoping to find some answers." Penny looked at Rudy sympathetically as she recalled what happened. "He ended up chasing Rudy, thinking that he stole from him."

"I think the culprit is the one who took those fireworks. We are hoping that you might be able to help us find an identity to whoever may have been responsible." Rudy said.

Arno tilted his head, one of his eyes narrowing as his tail wriggled around. He remained quiet for a while, thinking about an answer. The three kids did not speak, and waited for an answer. "Well..." Arno said, grabbing their attention. "There is someone..."

"Do you know who stole the white flame fireworks?" Rudy asked hopefully.

At this, Arno chuckled. "Well that would be me." He placed a hand to himself.

Mint's eyes narrowed. "You? Are you saying that you're the one who..."

Arno widened his eyes and took a step back, as if sensing Mint's growing agitation. Penny and Rudy shot Mint a glare, stifling him from taking any step closer. They then turned their attention back to the lion, who had backed up to the counter. It was clear this zoner had little experience with creators and had no idea what to expect from them.

Penny decided to try to ease the zoner's mind. "It's okay. He won't hurt you. We're just trying to help our friend."

Arno appeared to relax at this. "Your friend?" He paused, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, you mean Snap?" Penny nodded her head at this. "Yeah, I have heard some nasty rumors about him. I take it they are not true?"

"Yeah, that's right. The culprit has framed him." Rudy said, taking a step forward, putting himself in front of Mint. "We are just really desperate to try to help him. He's going to be executed in a few days." The lion's eyes bulged at this, like this was news to him. "We don't have much time left."

"Indeed you don't." Arno nodded his head. "It would be such a shame if Snap were executed for a crime he did not commit." He held up his paw. "And for that culprit to still run around..." He shook his head. "Such a darn shame..."

Penny nodded in agreement. Mint and Rudy did not protest to this. They were all on the same page with this. They all knew the consequences for someone getting away with murder. They could very well start up again. The idea that more people could suffer due to this zoner's horrendeous actions... It twisted their stomachs, making them feel nauseous.

Penny did feel some tinge of hope with this zoner. Despite their previous failed attempts at finding an answer, they were hoping that Arno could provide some kind of clue. Even if it was small, it was still a step forward. It would be a step closer to saving Snap, and the rest of ChalkZone City.

"To make myself more clear, when I said that I stole the white flame fireworks from Xannon, I should have been more specific." Arno leaned against the round, marble table where his register was. "Xannon was the one who stole the fireworks from me. Not the other way around." He held up his hand in gesture, his small yet sharp claws curving towards his palm. "I was just simply taking back what was mine." He looked over at Rudy, his expression saddening. "I am sorry that you nearly got hurt because of me. That was not my intention."

"I understand. It was just a mixup, that's all." Rudy said, smiling.

"Wait..." Mint took a step forward. This time, he sounded calmer and more in control. That didn't stop the lion from moving away from him again. "I am pretty sure we were told that white flame fireworks were illegal. How could you be selling them?"

Arno smiled nervously at this. "Why, because I have a license of course." He produced a small sheet of paper from his pocket, holding it out in front of them. "So long as I have this, I can sell them, but there are of course limitations."

"Oh yes, we have heard it was possible, so long as there were rules and regulations." Penny recalled that they had figured this out during their investigation. "But how could a zoner get a hold of multiple ones?"

"I'm afraid that would be my fault." Arno said. The children stared at him in shock. He smiled at them sadly. "I was coherced into selling one zoner multiple white flame fireworks. She had promised she had everything under control, though, and she had shown me the plans and it looked safe and.."

Penny wondered if this is why the zoner appeared guilt-ridden earlier. Did he believe that his fireworks caused the explosion? Did he think he was the one with blood on his claws? Did he blame himself for the deaths of those zoners?

One thing was for certain. They were getting closer. The conversation with Arno was turning quite eventful, and was starting to open up some doors that were previously closed. She wondered what more this lion could tell them. Would he be able to tell them the name of the zoner who bought the fireworks? Could he describe them? What else could he tell them?

"Arno..." Rudy spoke up, his voice stern, yet gentle. "Could you tell us who you sold the fireworks too?" It seemed that he got the same idea. "Is there anything you can tell us?"

"Please, we would appreciate it if you could tell us what you know. We don't want our friend to be killed..." Mint bit his lip. He turned his gaze to the side. "We also don't want more zoners to suffer because of this fiend."

"Sure, I'll be glad to tell you." Arno visibly flinched. "I can't imagine her being the one to cause all of this, but..."

Penny winced at that. She had a feeling she knew what name Arno was going to speak. And judging from her friends' expressions, they were thinking the same thing.

Arno looked at the children, noting their expressions. He hesitated, as if he were trying to wrap his mind around the possibility. Then he spoke. "Her name is... Sandra."

sss

"Her name is... Sandra."

That statement echoed multiple times in Rudy's head as he and his friends headed down the street. They had just finished speaking to Arno, and they had asked all the questions they could think of.

Over and over again, he replayed what was said in his mind. Arno had not just told them that Sandra bought the fireworks; he had offered up proof. He showed them her signature that she had given him when she got them. According to the date on the note, Sandra had bought the fireworks very close to when the part took place. Specifically, it was between when Snap inadvertantly destroyed the machine and when the party took place.

This itself wasn't too surprising. Sandra said she held the part in Snap's honor. She couldn't have done so prior to the machine being destroyed, since it wouldn't make a lot of sense, among other reasons.

However, she had still been linked to the crime. They now had a suspect they could look further into. Sandra was placed at the scene of the crime. She was the last zoner to go into the building. She had bought a bunch of white flame fireworks, having coherced Arno into giving them to her. He said that she insisted on having them now, but did not divulge why.

Rudy tried his best not to allow his anger to surface up. There was likely a good reason why Sandra wanted these fireworks in particular. Maybe she felt that Snap deserved something special. Maybe she wanted rare, hard-to-get fireworks becasue it made a bigger statement.

However, it did not explain why those fireworks were placed where they were. It would seem rather strange and counterproductive to have the fireworks stashed in the back. And why were they strung together like they were? What was Sandra's plan?

He knew that their best bet was to go find Sandra and talk to her again. She was the only one who could answer these questions. But it would have to wait a little while. She was likely going to be too busy for talk.

Rudy didn't want to believe that the one zoner they thought they could trust could be behind all of this. Snap had talked fondly about her, as he would with any zoner he liked. He had even helped her out when she was first erased about two months ago. And for her to repay Snap like this... It boiled his blood.

Rudy did not like being lied to, and neither did his friends. If Sandra truly was involved, that meant that she had been lying to them since day one. She had offered them advice, provided support, comforted Snap.. and to think that all of it could have been a lie... To think that she had been tricking them all.. It was difficult for him to wrap his mind around that. There was a possibility now that she had been lying to all of them, lying in their face about what was going on. She was hiding like a coward, instead of owning up to her mistakes. Such a despicable act...

He pushed the thoughts in the back of his head for now. Despite what it looked like, he knew that Sandra could still be innocent. That was why they had to try to talk to her again. He could imagine that she would not be very pleased, but it was necessary. If she was innocent, they would want to clear her name of that.

He glanced over at Mint. He would have to make sure that Mint kept himself calm during their second interrogation with Sandra. He could easily ruin things for them if he wasn't careful. Out of the three of them, he seemed to hold the most anger towards Sandra. He wondered if it was because, if she turned out to be the culprit, she reminded him of himself somehow. Mint hadn't always been such a great guy in the beginning.

Rudy's thoughts were interrupted when he saw they had reached Sandra's Alcove again. It was not far from where they had stopped, and there were a few zoners coming in and out of the restaurant. The dark windows made it impossible to tell how many zoners were inside, or if Sandra was watching them.

Rudy bit his lip. Although he was a bit nervous in what Sandra might think of them if they found them snooping around the front, or what the other zoners might say, they still had to do this. He looked left and right, taking note of what zoners were around, and then he and his friends moved forward.

Unlike last time, they did not head towards the door. They veered off away from it, moving by a couple of zoners that were coming their way. They did not intend on going inside just yet. They wanted to give Sandra some time with the zoners before they attempted to speak to her again. So they moved towards the large, black billboard where Sandra wrote her specials on and sat down next to it.

"I still find it hard to believe that Sandra..." Mint started to say. Penny reached forward and planted her hand on his mouth. He struggled for a second and pushed her away. He glared at her. "What was that for?"

"Shhh!" Penny hissed at him. "We can't draw attention."

Mint wiped his mouth, smacking his lips as if he had tasted something disgusting. "Well you didn't have to do that."

Penny smirked at this. But she didn't draw things out, much to Rudy's relief. Instead, she turned her attention back towards the restaurant. She moved her head from side to side, then raised it up. She appeared to be looking around to ensure they didn't draw unwanted attention to themselves. The last thing they needed right now was deal with any zoner who may think they were conspirating with Snap or something along those lines.

"So..how long do you think we should wait?" Mint asked.

Penny thought about this for a moment. "Not too long. I think half an hour would be good."

"What are we going to do for half an hour?" Mint raised his hand, looking at Penny with a small frown. "What can we do to keep our minds from wandering?"

Rudy chuckled. "Well, we could always..."

Mint's eyes widened at this. He held his arms out in front of him as if in self defense. "No! We are not doing that! Anything but that!"

"Oh calm down, Mint." Rudy waved a dismissive hand. "I was just joking."

Mint glared at him. He gritted his teeth and said, "Well don't. I'm not in the mood for it."

"Sorry."

Rudy didn't dwell on the topic long. His expression softening up, concern and uncertainty welling up inside of him, he turned his attention back to the topic on hand. He looked over at the restaurant, narrowing his eyes slightly. He hoped that Sandra would provide better answers this time around.

He and his friends sat on the curb, waiting in silence. They did their best not to allow their minds to wander off. They didn't want to miss their chance to speak to Sandra. He was glad that none of the zoners around them bugged them much. It allowed them to keep focus on what they had come here for. They were afraid they might get distracted, and Sandra might sneak past them and return home. They had no idea where she lived, so if they missed her today, they couldn't speak to her again until tomorrow. They did not want to waste all that time, not while Snap's life was on the line.

Rudy felt his heart twist in his chest. He could only imagine what his friend must be going through right now. He knew those zoners in there were not treating him very well. They were likely beating him up or at least, threatening him. Snap was going to have to endure that until whenever they were able to prove his innocense.

As much as he hated the idea of Sandra being the one responsible, a part of him still hoped this would lead them somewhere. They had been running around in circles with this for a while now. It would be nice to finally get somewhere with this investigation.

"Hmm...that is strange..." Penny said, rubbing her hand against her chin. Rudy looked over at her, as did Mint. "I never really paid much attention to this before..." Rudy wondered what she meant, but he soon noticed what she was looking at: the menu.

"What is it, Penny?" Mint asked. He looked from the menu, and then to Penny. "What do you notice about it?"

"Well..." Penny got up from the curb. She walked towards the menu. Rudy and Mint leaned back, supporting themselves with their hands, and watched as Penny got closer to the black billboard. "This says that the specials are never the same."

Rudy blinked at this. Why would this confuse Penny? Sandra's restaurant was relatively new, so it would make sense if the specials did not repeat for awhile. She likely had a lot of culinary ideas, likely given to her by whatever Mint's cousin embued her with.

"I admit, that's kind of confusing, but...it's hardly cause for concern." Mint said.

"What could be so unusual about that?" Rudy asked, holding his hand palm up. "I mean, she is relatively new to ChalkZone."

"Well yes. But I was reading the fine print." Penny placed her finger against the board. She used her head to gesture for the boys to get closer. They looked at each other, and then they got up to their feet. They walked over towards Penny and looked at where she indicated. "Here, read this."

Rudy and Mint stared at the small lettering. They were amazed that Sandra could write this small. They peered closely and read in their heads what the words said.

"In order to ensure a different experience, I never use the same type of meat from the same source twice. Even if I should serve the same dish, I guarantee the flavor will be different."

Rudy and Mint glanced at each other, and then shared exchanges with Penny. They let this information sink in. Despite the fact there could be a logical explanation for it, Rudy had to admit, something did seem kind of off about that. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Mint, however, did. "I can see using different spices, but she does not say that." He stared at the billboard again, looking at the tiny words, rereading them. "She makes no mention of spices. Just meat, and what does she mean by a different source?" He turned his head and looked at Rudy and Penny. "How is that possible? I mean, sure, I can see the first few times, but how could she..?"

"Well it could be that she gets her food from stuff that is erased. But that is pretty unpredictable, and that would be all over the place." Rudy said. "I do know Snap told me about a place that regularly erases specials, but I've seen Sandra's food and it doesn't look anything like that. And with how many specials she has, I have my doubts that she could get them solely from erased food."

"I agree, Rudy. But she must be getting the food from somewhere." Penny folded her arms against her chest. "Especially that meat." She furrowed her eyes for a few seconds. Then she softened her expression and sighed. She looked over at Rudy and Mint, giving a small smile. "Sorry, I just...can't get it out of my head."

"Neither can I." Mint glanced at the menu. "It does seem strange. I..." Suddenly his eyes widened, and he walked closer towards the menu. "I don't believe it.."

"What is it, Mint?" Rudy moved in closer, his eyes moving around to try to see what the thirteen year old had spotted. "What do you see?"

Mint kept looking at the menu. He raised up his hand, a shaky pointer finger facing towards one side of the menu. "Look at this..."

Rudy and Penny looked at where Mint indicated, curious to know what had him shaken up. Upon looking, it didn't take them long to see what had startled the boy.

The dates... They... No..it couldn't be true. They must be reading them wrong and... No, they were reading them right. Over and over, it always said the same thing.

Penny took in a few shaky breaths, her mind having trouble comprehending this. "The dates...they respond to the death of a zoner..."

The deaths at the hospitals... They weren't an overnight thing. It had taken place over the course of a couple of days. These dates of the past specials, they all corresponded perfectly to the days those zoners had been pronounced dead.

"You...You don't..." Mint looked over at Rudy and Penny, his body shaking in horror. "Y-You don't think...?"

Rudy held onto his stomach, nearly dropping over. A strong feeling of nausea swept through him, nearly causing him to lose his meal. He fought back the urge to vomit. Penny looked just as sickened, her face pale. Mint's eyes remained wide open, and he couldn't stop shaking.

Rudy put his hand over his mouth, a few times, nearly retching. He looked over at the restaurant itself, sweat beginning to drip down his face. He nearly threw up, and he swallowed, ignoring the sour taste in his mouth. He took in a few breaths, giving horrified glances to his friends, and then he looked back at the restaurant.

"I...I don't know..." He swallowed again, struggling to maintain his cool. He felt his stomach churn at the possibility of such a heinous crime. "But we'll find out..."

sss

Well that...could have gone a lot better. Mint was certain that they had her. He had thought that they had all the proof they needed that Sandra was hiding something from them. They just needed to get her to confess and tell them the truth of what happened.

But things didn't quite go as they had expected.

When they went into the restaurant to talk to her, the moment Sandra saw them, she immediately told them she was closing shop early. Something about how she had an emergency back home. She refused to elaborate on this, however, and just insisted she had to leave early. Despite their best efforts, they could not get her to say anything more.

Mint suspected that this was a lie. It seemed more like she just wanted to get out of talking to them. But the other zoners around them seemed to concer with what she said. None of them protested or looked confused. So perhaps it had been planned.

But Mint could not completely dismiss the feelings welling up in his stomach. There was still that possibility that Sandra just didn't want to speak to them. She could have been watching them, after all, and she could have realized they had figured out something they should not have. After all, the windows did allow her to see out, but not them see in. She could just be trying to slip away from having to talk to them.

Mint was still shaken up by their discovery from before. The fact that the past specials corresponded with the death of a zoner was rather unsettling. He was surprised the other zoners did not pay attention. Then again, they only ever saw zoners walking in and out, but none of them seemed to read the specials all too much. Just enough to know what was there, and then they'd walk in, or walk away to continue whatever it was they were doing.

If what they found was true, then it meant that Sandra was...cooking other zoners. If she was the one responsible for the death of those zoners, and if the dates really did mean what they thought... Then the only conclusion they could come up with was that Sandra was killing these zoners and then using their meat in the recipe.

The very thought of that boiled their blood and filled them with horror. What kind of disgusting, depraved zoner would do such a thing? They would already hate Sandra before if she was the one who framed Snap. But to kill and eat other zoners, to make them eat the flesh of their own kind... She was absolutely irredeemable after that.

At the moment, they were just walking through ChalkZone City. They weren't sure yet what they were going to do next, and they all mutually agreed that a walk could help them clear their minds. If any of them had an idea, they could relay it to the others.

Mint took advantage of this time to try to organize his thoughts in his head. He still felt some cold shivers from when he found out what Sandra might have been doing. He attempted to control himself as he and his friends walked down the streets.

He was trying to think about the case from a different angle. This was something his friends had mentioned before when they were trying to look for clues. Although Mint was becoming more and more convinced that Sandra, at the very least, played some kind of role, he didn't want to condemn her just yet. He wanted to still give her the benefit of the doubt, and hope that all of this was a big misunderstanding.

He tried to think of someone, anyone else, who could have matched the description. There had to be another zoner that could fit that bill, perhaps even better than Sandra. If he could think of someone, then he knew where they were going to do next.

But the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't think of anyone who could have matched what he and Penny saw in that hospital room. Four sharp claws, small. Sandra was the only one who could fit that. The only zoner who...

..wait a minute..

Hold on...

Mint's mind reeled, playing footage in his head. He couldn't believe that he had missed it. How could he have been so stupid? How could any of them have forgotten?

There was a zoner who matched that description. A zoner who had four claws... well five, but the fifth one was rather small. A zoner who had intimate knowledge of the hospital, who was always at the hospital, who knew where everything was...

Mosaic.

sss

Rudy wasn't entirely sure if he agreed with Mint. While he made a good case, he, as well as Penny, weren't entirely sure if he was right.

They were in an alleyway, as Mint wanted to talk to them in private, but did not want to go all the way to Snap's tree house to do so. They agreed after a few moments, and they went in the nearest alleyway to talk. It was there that Mint told them his thoughts. Rudy and Penny weren't sure what to make of it.

"I know what you're saying..but I just don't think that she could have done it." Penny said. "The cameras would have caught her. Besides.." She held up a finger, pointing it in Mint's direction. "You heard what the doctors had said. She is an animal zoner. Intelligent, but not to the point where she could plan something like this."

"Yeah, Mint. I understand why you would jump to this conclusion. Mosaic does seem like she fits the bill better." Rudy had to admit it, Mosaic does seem like a more likely culprit...if she were fully sentient and capable of orchestrating something like this. "I still must disagree, however. I think you might be jumping to conclusions."

Mint was pacing back and forth. He was still listening to them, indicated by how he would turn his head and stare at them once in a while. He remained quiet, continuing his pacing as he tried to think of something to say. Rudy and Penny did not bother him, and waited for him to give a response.

Rudy wondered what Mint was going to say next. Would he realize that he was mistaken? Would he attempt to defend his idea? Whatever he decided upon, Rudy hoped it would be quick. They didn't exactly have a lot of time on their hands.

Mint looked over at them. "But..she could have been lying."

"Mint, she never spoke to us." Rudy said. "How could she lie to us if she never said a word?"

Mint smiled nervously at this. "That..came out wrong." He put his hand, fingers curled inward, and coughed into it, clearing his throat. "What I meant to say is that maybe Mosaic was only pretending to be mostly animal. Maybe she has something to do with the security system going haywire, and the machines being shut off. I admit it's possible that Sandra or someone else could have done it but..." He held his hand out towards them, trying to emphasize his point. "Don't you think it would make more sense if someone on the inside was responsible?"

Rudy had to admit, Mint made a really good point there. What if Mosaic, or another zoner, in the hospital itself was responsible? Someone who had knowledge of the building's structure, where everything was, where the security system was. He had his doubts that Mosaic could be responsible, but what if one of the doctors...

Then he thought back to Dr. Gelcro. He seemed way too eager to throw Snap in jail. He had tried to dismiss him as just a desperate jerk who had good intentions, just going about them the wrong way. But now another thought entered his mind that he could not dismiss.

What if Dr. Gelcro was responsible? What if he was abusing the hospital's security system and infrastructure to get what he wanted? What if he was in cahoots with the police, convincing them to tell anyone who asked that the hospital's security system was going haywire?

At this realization, Rudy's eyes widened. He looked over at Mint. Penny noticed his expression, and he felt her gently nudge him. He looked down at her for a second. He then turned his attention back to Mint. "I think we should pay a visit to the hospital."

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah...I think so, too."

"Why? What's your idea, Rudy? Do you agree with Mint or did..." Penny started to say.

Rudy cut her off. "I'll explain on the way. Come on, let's go."

The three friends departed for the ChalkZone hospital.


	22. Communication Failure

Silence must be heard. Noise should be observed.

-Silence Must Be Heard, Enigma

sss

Getting back into the hospital was going to be problematic. The trio had nearly forgotten about it until they had gotten there. And when they did, they realized it was going to raise some issues. Not that it was going to stop them. They all knew they had to do this. But they would need to figure out a way of entering the hospital without running into that receptionist, or most of the doctors. If they were caught, they could be kicked out before they could have a word with Mosaic.

Penny was glad that her leg was workable now. Despite how bad the sprain appeared to be, it was not as bad as it had appeared. She still had a slight limp, but it was doable. It had healed quite fast. She did not pay too much attention to this, however, and she looked over at the hospital. She knew they had to figure out a way to get in.

But getting in without being seen...that was going to be a challenge, and they all knew it. The security cameras were likely up and running, and they would notice them coming in from a different angle. They knew that if the zoners spotted them doing this, they'd get even more suspicious of them. It was bad enough that some zoners may be starting to believe that they had turned on them, but that was going to get worse if the zoners saw them wandering around outside the hospital, looking for a way in.

It wasn't like they had much choice, however. It was imperative that they find their way into the building. Looking for another entrance was the best way they could think of at the moment. The front entrance would have them dealing with the receptionist, who likely would not let them pass since Snap was not in the hospital anymore. Plus, there was the fact that they rushed past her a couple of times, aggravating her. She would be quite unhappy to see them again, especially Mint, whom she still liked to call Enemy Creator.

So how were they going to get inside the building without drawing attention to themselves? How were they going to get to the upper levels where Mosaic was without the doctors seeing that they were there?

There would have be some method, right? There was always a way to do something. They just had to think hard enough, and eventually, something would come into their heads. But they had little time for this, they knew. Snap's trial was in a couple of days. The delay may have bought them some time, but it wasn't a lot.

It took Penny longer than she had imagined before she finally thought of something that might work. She turned to her friends, who were leaning against the alleyway not far from her. They were located across the street from the hospital, far enough pack that they wouldn't be noticed.

As she stared at them, she noticed they were looking at her curiously, wondering what she had in mind. She decided not to keep them waiting.

"We could probably get in there if we were to make ourselves invisible." Penny said.

"Invisible? Is that even possible?" Mint inquired, tilting his head.

Rudy nodded his head. "In ChalkZone, it is." He turned back to Penny. "That does sound like a good idea." He paused for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Wouldn't that be a little risky, though?"

"What do you mean?" Mint turned to Rudy. "I thought you said..."

"I know what I said. I'm not saying it won't work, but.." Rudy sighed and turned to Penny. "What if the doctors bump into us? If we aren't careful, they could touch us and realize we are there. They could sound the alarm."

Penny realized that Rudy had a point there. Being invisible may be useful, but it was also really risky. They would need to pay even more close attention to their surroundings as they could be given away by someone bumping into them, or even as something as mundane as some water splashing onto them. If they weren't careful, if they didn't pay close enough attention to their surroundings, they could easily lose their stealth and they could be in trouble.

Then Penny realized there was another problem they would have to deal with. Something that almost nobody ever thinks about when it comes to invisibility. Although ChalkZone was not the Real World and some laws of physics change, after all how do the Beanie Boys fly, but there was still a chance that this could affect them. It was best to come up with a plan to counteract it just in case.

"We may need to modify the plan a little." Penny said. Rudy and Mint looked over at her, waiting for her to continue. "Only two of us should become invisible. The remaining one will lead."

"What? Won't that defeat the purpose?" Mint narrowed his eyes in confusion. "We would be given away almost immediately!"

"I'm with Mint on this one. I don't know if it's a good idea to leave one of us visible. How are we going to get past the doctors if they can see one of us?" Rudy asked.

Penny knew these two would react this way. So she had prepared a response ahead of time. "The person who decides to remain visible will be transformed, momentarily, into something else." Rudy and Mint blinked at this. "Yes, it does seem unlikely, but if one of us drew a magic wand..."

"Wouldn't that only affect zoners?" Mint asked before he could finish.

Penny shook her head. "Sometimes, chalk-based stuff here still affects those from the Real World." She looked over at Rudy. "Remember the time that some of the adults, including our parents, were hit with ChalkZone water? Their personalities became more childlike and playful."

Rudy nodded his head. "Yeah I do remember that." He still didn't seem convinced, his eyes furrowing further. "But that was just that one time. We don't know if the wand will work on either of us, and what if something goes wrong?"

"Trust me, Rudy. It'll be fine."

Penny wished she was more confident than she sounded. She hoped that she was right, and that this operation could run quite smoothly. There was a risk still involved, however. No matter how sure she was, she couldn't deny that something seriously wrong could occur.

Taking risks was the best thing they could do at this point. They had another suspect. Mosaic herself. Penny had her doubts that she could have done anything. That croc zoner didn't seem like the type that could have planned any of this. But she could not rule her out just yet. Not until they figured out more. Then there was Dr. Gelcro, another suspect. Although he seemed like he could have done something, what with how eager he was to convict Snap and everything, she could not jump to conclusions. Dr. Gelcro could be innocent, and just merely fooled by the real culprit.

Penny turned her attention to the hospital. She knew they wasted enough time. She glanced over at Rudy and Mint, giving a nod to the two. "Come on, we need to get going and..."

Mint held up his hand. "I still don't think this is a good idea."

Rudy was quiet for a moment. He seemed like he was agreeing with Mint. When he spoke, however, he brought up something. Penny already knew about this, but she had forgotten to explain it to Mint and Rudy. "Why do we need someone to guide us? We know where to go in the hospital. We shouldn't have to..."

Mint cut him off. "Yeah, we aren't blind, you know!"

Penny smiled at the two. This further added to their confusion. She decided not to let them wait that long before telling them. "You will be blind once you are invisible."

"W-What?!" Mint spluttered, taking a step back. His eyes were wide in horror. "I'm going to lose my sight?!"

"Temporarily, unless you want to be the one to try changing into a small bird or something." Penny said.

"I don't want to be blind either!" Came Rudy's panicked response.

"Well only one of us can be transformed, otherwise it might get a little...strange. The doctors may not pay attention to a lone bird that gets in, just as long as it doesn't go up to the upper levels where the patients are." Penny explained. She had to get these two to see why they had to do this the way she was proposing. "But two...that would be pushing it. They may pay more attention to two, and definitely three. Plus, one of us has to be able to hold the wand again to use it. A bird can't do that very well."

"But..but why would we go blind?" Rudy held his hands out, his voice tinging with panic. "How would being invisible affect our sight?"

"I've seen invisibility in shows," Mint said. His body was shaking slightly at the prospect of losing his sight. "None of them ever addressed this."

Penny nodded her head. "I understand how you feel. But trust me...we need to be prepared for this, just in case."

Penny took in a breath and sighed. She could tell they wouldn't go anywhere until she could put their minds at ease. Perhaps telling them why they could go blind would help them. If she did that, and she assured them it was only temporary, maybe they would go along with it.

"The way we see the world is through the light that refracts in our eyes. To be invisible, light must travel straight through us. That means our eyes as well. When our eyes don't have light reflecting in them, they cannot gather any visual information, and we go blind." Penny told the two boys. She raised up a finger, giving a small smile. "But don't worry. It's only temporary. As soon as we are visible again, we will be able to see. No harm done."

Rudy and Mint gave nervous glances at each other. From their expressions, they weren't entirely sure if they wanted to go along with this plan or not. Penny remained quiet, deciding to give them time to think of an answer. She didn't want to push it, knowing that if she was too rough with them, they would get even more nervous, and they'd waste more time.

Penny hoped they wouldn't take too long to decide on an answer. They did not have a lot of time to think on this. They had to get in there and speak with Mosaic, and then get out as fast as they can. She hoped that, all in all, this interrogation would turn up some more results.

After a while, Rudy seemed ready to respond. She noticed him raise his head up, his eyes flashing briefly. He took a few steps forward. Mint followed closely behind him. "Okay, Penny. We'll do it."

Mint's response was delayed, but he gave one nonetheless. "Where do we start."

Penny smiled at this. Before she spoke, she thought of something else they could do that would make things easier. She looked left and right, making sure there weren't any zoners nearby, and then she turned back to her friends. "Here is what I propose we do."

Penny began to explain the plan to Rudy and Mint.

sss

Dr. Gelcro let out a soft sigh. He hadn't felt this relaxed, this relieved, in quite some time. Things had been rather hectic lately, what with the explosions and the deaths and influx of patients. Then there was the fact the security system was having problems and wasn't working as well as it should have, making him and a lot of the other doctors more..anxious to put it mildly.

The siberian husky couldn't begin to count how many patients they have had a few weeks prior that came in with severe burns. He remembered trying his best to save the ones that made it to the hospital alive, but alas, they died before they could recieve much treatment.

It was really quite the tragedy. It made him flashback to when all those zoners had been brought in after some of Mint's attacks. Granted, there hadn't been quite as many, thankfully, but nonetheless, he couldn't help but draw the parallels. There had also been so much damage to the city. He himself had actually lost his home for a while until Rudy redrew his house for him, for which he was grateful.

He couldn't really understand why Rudy and Penny were allowing Mint to stay. But perhaps he shouldn't question it. As much as he disliked the kid, he had to admit, he had done a pretty good job making up for his actions. No matter what he thought, he could not deny that if it weren't for Mint, ChalkZone would have taken a longer time to recover.

Still, he could not dismiss entirely what Mint had done, and he still could not bring himself to be totally comfortable with him being around. So he would sometimes get a little..defensive, if that is the right word.

He sighed, knowing that he shouldn't allow that to control the way he acted. He was supposed to be a doctor. He should behave better than this. Dr. Gelcro made a mental note to try to keep himself under more control if he should run into Mint again. He knew that Mint was not the cause of ChalkZone's current distress.

It was Snap. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes at that name. That name...so simple, and yet it spoke volumes. Never before had he known a zoner to go from being widely loved, to being absolutely despised by almost everyone.

Snap had gotten his name around town for a while after they found out that he stopped the machine that had been screwing around with the equipment and security systems, even zoners themselves. Dr. Gelcro wasn't afflicted by this, but he knew some zoners that were. Despite his hatred of the zoner, Dr. Gelcro could not lie to himself. He could not dismiss the fact that, if it weren't for Snap's interference, there could have been more damage.

Yet, who is to say that Snap didn't have all this planned? He could have set the whole thing up, and then destroyed what was essentially his machine just to get good publicity. Dr. Gelcro ground his teeth at this thought. The husky could feel his blood boiling at the thought of this highly manipulative behavior.

He was glad that the little runt got what he deserved. A lot of zoners had lost loved ones because of him. He could still hear their cries, their weeps, the mourning of the dead echoing in the air. He lost count, but easily about fifty zoners had lost their lives in that explosion, maybe more. And it was all because of him.

Then something made him freeze in the hallway. He paused, staring blankly ahead. He ignored everything around him, even another doctor that had come by. His head swirled with thoughts, and he felt his eyes narrow in confusion, and then widen a little.

He started to wonder if it made any sense at all. He thought it did, at first. Snap could have planned the whole thing just to get good publicity, all just so he could plan that explosion and kill off those zoners. Why, he wasn't certain. But with someone who bears a criminal mind, who knows what they were thinking. Snap likely had a reason, he was sure.

Yet..if Snap would go through all that trouble just to get attention, then why would he waste it so quickly? Why would he throw out that trust he had built on something that, compared to other things he could have done, was pretty mundane? He was not making light of the tragedy, but he could list off in his head multiple things Snap could have done that was much worse than what he actually did. And why would he pull a stunt that was so foolish that it nearly resulted in him getting killed as well? Snap would have known the risks, right?

Perhaps there was more going on than he realized. Perhaps something else was happening that he and the others weren't aware about. Maybe...

He shook his head, banishing those thoughts from it. What was he thinking? He was allowing Snap to get to him. The runt probably had this planned all along as well. Planting doubts in his head so he could get away with murder. Dr. Gelcro growled at this. He was not going to allow that punk to get him that easily. No, he would not...

His ears twitched as he heard something. He looked around the hallway. He saw a few doctors, but none of them were in the direction the sound came from. It was more...upwards. He tilted his head up, pricking his ears forward so he could pick up as much sound as he could.

Above him, he could see what appeared to be a small bird of some kind. The small avian, appearing to be a robin of sorts, was flying close to the ceiling, heading straight down.

The appearance of the bird did not alarm the husky too much, and he rested his ears back. The poor thing probably got stuck in here when one of the latest patients was brought in. He would normally go after the bird right away, but he had a schedule to keep. He couldn't waste it going after a bird. Besides, it was not his department to do so. He would leave it up to the section of the hospital whose job it was it get rid of any wild animals that came into the building. They would have gotten the word about it right about now.

He began to walk away, taking a few steps forward. He stopped, his nose twitching, as something entered his nostrils. Something faint, yet still strong enough for him to notice. He took a couple of whiffs, and he twitched his ears as he thought he recognized the smell. He turned his red eyes over towards the hallway again, moving his pupils along as he tried to detect where the smell was coming from.

It was then he noticed something was a little...off.

He thought he could detect movement. In an empty hallway. But how? By this point, the other doctors had disappeared, leaving just the bird. Speaking of that, the bird seemed a little too...cautious. Why would it need to feel that way? It was just a bird after all, unless...

Dr. Gelcro's eyes widened. He realized what must be going on. He quickly turned his gaze away and pretended to go about his regular business, not wanting to draw attention. The thing he believed he saw moving...it could be the culprit. They must have turned themselves invisible. Snap..it must be Snap...and perhaps his minions, if he had any followers. Dr. Gelcro felt his heart pounding in his chest. The runt must have escaped jail somehow. He did not dare waste on trying to figure out why, and instead focused on what he could do about it.

He would need to follow the bird, but more discreetly. He sifted through the clamoring thoughts in his head as he tried to think of where Snap might go. He knew of multiple ways to get to certain locations. If he could figure out where he might be going, he could head him off, and stop him before more harm was done.

He followed closely behind, being as quiet as he could. He kept his ears perked up, and his nose was on constant watch, with his eyes shifting from side to side. He allowed some of his predatory instincts to take over as he followed who he knew had to be Snap down the hallway.

His red eyes widened when he saw the bird, likely one of Snap's minions, heading up the stairs. The fiend...he was going after the patients. The husky knew he had to head him off, somehow. He turned his head, noticing there was an elevator there. Clenching his teeth and flattening his eyes, he gave one last look at the invisible form of Snap before he went to the elevator.

Dr. Gelcro tried to calm himself down. His racing heart was making it difficult for him to press the right floor button, his hands trembling. He took in a deep breath, and after he was calmed down a little, he pressed his clawed finger against it. The elevator doors shut, and he felt it begin to move upwards.

As the elevator traveled up to the patients' floor, he narrowed his eyes dangerously. He would not allow Snap to hurt another patient. Not on his watch.

sss

Rudy felt enormous relief when the invisibilty was turned off. He had to shut his eyes for a little while, the intense light getting into them, hurting them. It took a few seconds before his eyes were able to adjust, and he was able to look around without having to put a hand in front of his face.

It had been rather terrifing not being able to see. Or hear for that matter. His hearing was rather compromised. There was still some level of sensory with it, but hardly much. It felt like someone had popped his ear drums and then put a tight blindfold over his eyes. He had no idea where he was going, as though he were trapped in a deep, dark abyss. If it weren't for the small strong that he held in his hand, attached to the bird, he would have gotten lost.

He had made sure to hold onto Mint's hand the entire time. Mint did not complain, since without it, he would have been lost, unable to tell where he should go, and he and Penny would have a hard time finding him. With him holding onto Mint, and him holding onto the string, they were able to make their way up the steps.

They had kept walking, making their way slowly down the halls. They had been lucky they did not meet much resistance up here. Rudy kept himself tensed up, though, knowing that one screw up, one misstep, that was all it would take to alert the doctors, and then they'd be in trouble.

But before they knew it, they arrived in their destination. He knew this because the bird tapped against his shoulder, signaling him it was time to deactivate the invisibility. When sight filled his eyes once more, he never felt more relieved in his life. Just being able to see... He took a brief moment to feel sympathy for those who lost their sight or hearing in an accident.

He, as well as Penny and Mint, were located in Snap's room. It was still unoccupied by a new patient, which they were thankful for. They didn't know how they were going to explain their sudden appearance to an injured or ill zoner.

"Finally, we are here!" Mint cried. Rudy and Mint shushed him and he cringed back. "Sorry. I was about to be driven crazy if I had to spend another moment..."

"Well at least we are here now." Penny said. She took a moment, looking left and right. "Do you think we should place the other teleporter here?" She pointed to a corner in the room. "I don't think they'll notice it in that darkened area."

Rudy looked over at where Penny was indicating. He could see a shadowed area in the corner. He paused for a moment, tilting his head. He looked at the entrance where they came in from, and then back at the corner. Finally, he turned to Penny and said, "No. I think we should just stick to the plan and use a teleporter wand or something along those lines. The zoners would get suspicious if they found a teleporter in the hospital."

"That would be a rather odd site to run into." Mint nodded his head slowly. He peered over at the corner, folding his arms against his chest. "And they will know one of us drew it."

Penny needed no further prompting. "All right then." She turned over to the bird that led them in. She reached forward, gesturing to the bird to climb into her fingers. "Thank you for helping us." Penny gently ran a finger along the top of the bird's head and down its back. "You may leave now." She pulled her arm down and then thrust upwards. The bird spread its wings out and started to flap hard into the air, going back down the way it came. "Bye!" Penny called out in a low, soft voice.

Rudy watched as the bird disappeared down the hallway. He chuckled softly and said, "I'm glad we came up with an idea for that." He shook his head. "I don't know what would have happened if one of us ended up turning into a bird."

Mint shuddered. "I wouldn't want to peck bird seed for the rest of my life..."

Penny was silent for a moment. She slumped her shoulders and gave a small smile. "Yeah, that would have been a pretty dumb idea after all." She turned her head to the side, glancing towards Mint. "Good thing you came up with the idea of drawing a bird, instead of one of us turning into a bird."

"No problem!" Mint said with a grin. "What will you do without me?"

Rudy was grateful that Mint came up with that idea before they executed the plan. It would have been rather difficult to pull off, and then they would have to worry about the bird's instincts. Penny suspected that if they turned into a bird, they would have to control the animal mind to keep from getting freaked out by the sights and sounds of the hospital. Then there was the simple matter of flight. They did not have the knowledge of how to keep aloft, and they would have had to spend time learning that before they could be of any use.

Yes, drawing a bird worked out so much better. Rudy had to wonder what will happen to it after it left the hospital, however. He assumed that it would just do what birds do in the Real World and find a place a live and hunt. Penny assured him the bird would be fine.

"I'm going to draw the teleportation wand so, when we are done here, we will be teleported out." Penny said as she raised her piece of magic chalk.

Rudy watched her as she drew up the device that she had described. Penny had the idea of teleportation when they were ready to leave. In this way, it would be easier exiting the building than it was getting in. Rudy felt relieved that they wouldn't have to go wander outside blind and deaf again. He wasn't sure how well he would take to that a second time.

"Now where do you suppose..." Mint looked around the room, his hands on his hips. Rudy did not need to ask to know what he was looking for. Or rather, who. "She should be here, I thought."

"I hope they didn't move her." Rudy winced. "I am not interested in going invisible again."

Penny finished up drawing the device and put it in her pocket. "Don't worry." She said with a smile. "She should be in here. I'm sure if it. Let's just look around."

Rudy wasn't sure how Penny could know. He chalked it up to her just being optimistic. There was a big chance that Mosaic had been relocated elsewhere since Snap was no longer in the hospital. Perhaps she had been given to another patient who could use her help. Or maybe she was simply wandering the hallways.

The three friends moved around the room quietly, taking care not to make any sounds as their feet touched the ground. They looked around slowly, their breathing low and quiet, as if they were trying to hide from a predator. After a few moments of searching, they didn't find anything. The room was not that large, and she did not have a lot of places to hide. There was only one place they could check now.

Rudy volunteered for the job. He walked past Penny and Mint, looking intently at the sheet of the bed, nearly touching the ground. He licked his lips nervously, unsure of what to expect from Mosaic when she was not guarding anyone. He reached forward slowly, his hand trembling. He paused, pulling it back. Then, taking in a deep breath, he grabbed the blanket and then lifted it up.

He was immediately greeted with large, amber eyes. They practically glowed in the shadow of the bed. The pupils shrank into slits, and Rudy thought he could hear a growl. He began to back away, but it was too late.

With a rush of brown and green, there was a hard collission against his chest, something solid, and he was on his back. He looked up, seeing Mosaic staring down, her eyes practically hovering above his body. Her mouth was part way open, a low hiss escaping her throat. Her front paws gripped his shoulders, reminding him that this croc had the ability to walk upright, not just on all fours, which made her seem even more threatening.

Rudy felt his heart pound against his chest as he stared into Mosaic's eyes. He began to wonder if she really did have something to do with the explosions or with what happened to Snap. He could hear Penny and Mint frantically discussing what to do as Mosaic put her jaws closer to him.

Then, much to his surprise, Mosaic jumped off of him, landing a few feet away. Rudy rubbed his chest, feeling immense relief from the animal zoner's weight being lifted from him. Penny and Mint rushed by his side and grabbed onto his arms. They lifted him up and they all stared cautiously at Mosaic.

The crocodile zoner stared in their direction. Her eyes flashed something, perhaps recognition. She stared at them intently, emitting a low growl from her throat, narrowing her eyes. The trio tensed up, wondering if she was going to attack them. The way she was moving her tail slowly from side to side, her claws scratching at the ground, this certainly seemed the case. When she took a step forward, they moved back, adopting defensive stances.

Then Mosaic did something they did not expect her to do.

She dashed towards them, but stopped abruptly. She swirved around in a circle, and darted towards the bed. She jumped onto it, a loud squeak eminating from the bad as she did so. She stared at them intently, running around in a circle on the bed. She jumped off and ran around them, and then launched herself back towards the bed, nearly slamming into it.

This odd behavior took them all by surprise. They stared at one another, and then back at Mosaic. What could she be trying to tell them?

sss

Dr. Gelcro crept along the hallway, being as quiet as he could. He had seen where the bird had went to, and he was following close behind. It was days like these that he wish he was solid white; it would match perfectly with the walls around him.

His mind raced as he thought of all the possibilities of what Snap wanted with the patients. Was he going to plant a bomb in here? Had he messed with the security cameras so he could pull this off without worry? Did he have some other diabolical plan involved?

Each possibility that sifted through his head heated up his blood more. A mixture of anger and anxiety swelled up inside. Something got caught in his throat as he fought back the urge to throw up. He couldn't help but feel terrified. Snap was a brilliant bastard, since he had successfully offed so many zoners. He had every reason to be so scared about approaching him, and anyone who could be deemed his followers. His heart raced even faster when he realized he had three creators who sided with him. Who knows what he could have them do.

But he could not allow the patients to be left at his mercy. He was afraid, yes, but he was more afraid of what could happen if he did not do something to protect the patients. As a doctor, that was his priority. So he continued to follow, knowing full well what could be waiting for him when he found them.

He twitched his ears as he heard the sound of wings flapping. He tilted his head up, realizing that the bird from before was heading back down this way. He pressed his back against the wall, his heart racing against his chest. He watched as the bird approached him, not seeming to notice. He did not detect any strange movement in the hallway, nor did he pick up any scent besides the hospital's and the bird's. Concluding that the bird was alone, Dr. Gelcro decided to make a move.

He waited until the bird came closer. He kept still, watching, his red eyes narrowed into slits. The bird made no attempt to turn away, gave no indication that it knew he was there. Baring his teeth, the muscles in his arms tensing up, Dr. Gelcro leaped into the air, his hands out in front of him.

They hit their mark.

Dr. Gelcro fell into the ground as his fingers wrapped tightly around the struggling bird. Loud, panic-filleds squawks filled the air. Scared that the bird was going to give him away, Dr. Gelcro seized the bird's beak, sealing it shut. He slammed the bird against the wall, keeping it firmly pressed there.

Putting his face close to the bird's head, his hot breath hitting against its face, Dr. Gelcro said, "I know what you are, little birdie..." He felt the bird continue to squirm in his palm, frantic and swift, with brief pauses. "If you want to live, you will tell me everything." He flashed his sharp teeth, emphasizing his point. "Do you understand?"

The bird did not respond. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. How very clever. Snap must have told the bird to not respond to any interrogation methods. But everyone can be cracked under the right pressure. He was going to find out how Snap escaped and what he was up to. And this bird was going to be his key.

sss

Mint was not sure what to make of this scene. When they came here to speak to Mosaic, they hadn't exactly expected it to go this way. Then again, what could they have expected from a crocodile zoner who, according to the doctors, didn't talk?

For the past several minutes, the crocodile had been jumping around, going in circles, repeating strange gestures, among other things. She would wave her paw at them, curving her wrist in some strange way that Penny admitted she didn't think was possible for her species. She would let out quick, loud sounds, almost like a bark, like she wanted to keep their attention. She would constantly go to the bed, push her nose against it, and then look back at them, as though she wanted them to do the same thing.

The three friends looked at one another, trying to think of what this could mean. They hadn't had much luck trying to guess what Mosaic wanted. She had been running around in circles almost the entire time. She'd pound the ground with her front paws, wave her tail around, lay down on her back and expose her belly. Some of the gestures seem so exaggerated that Penny suggested that maybe Mosaic didn't know how to communicate with them and was trying all she can to try to get them to understand.

If she was trying to tell them something, she would have to do a better job than this. Mint folded his arms, watching Mosaic. At the moment, she was dragging Rudy towards the bed, her teeth snagging his sleeve. He and Penny watched as she released him and then kept swinging her head towards the bed, stomping her feet a few times, almost like an excited dog.

Mint shook his head, his mind beginning to ache as he tried to comprehend what the crocodile could be trying to tell them. They could see nothing wrong with the bed, and Penny had even checked it when she was over there. It was clean, deprived of anything except maybe some dirt. There was nothing of interest anywhere near the bed, and yet she kept dragging them over there. Why? What was the point?

It was getting to the point where Mint wondered if they were wasting their time. Mosaic's frantic behavior wasn't getting them anywhere. They had been watching here for many minutes now, and they weren't anywhere closer to understanding what she wanted.

Mint looked up towards the clock, wincing. He looked over at Penny. "Perhaps we should get out of here. If we stay too much longer..."

Penny raised her hand up. "Not yet. We need to see if we can understand what Mosaic is trying to tell us."

Mint narrowed his eyes. "Oh forget it. We have been looking at her antics long enough." He raised his shoulders up. "She has not provided us with any useful information. So perhaps we should just..."

"Not yet. We just need to be patient." Penny said, her hand still held up. "I'm sure we'll reach a breakthrough soon."

Mint held up his hands in confusion. "I don't know what you..." Mint froze when he noticed Mosaic doing something different.

Mosaic had moved away from Rudy and had positioned herself where she seemed to know all three of them could see her unobstructed. She then reared onto her hind legs for a few seconds, and then dropped back down again. She looked at them, tilting her head as if trying to see if they understood what she was trying to tell them. She snorted when she realized they did not and she tried again, this time spending some more time on her hind legs, walking around, her front paws stretched out forward.

This behavior seemed so...strange and unusual. Mint wasn't sure what to make of it at first, and neither did his friends. They watched as Mosaic continued to walk around on two legs. After a few tries, Mosaic tried again, this time she attempted to straighten herself out in an almost upright posture. This did not last long and she fell back down.

But it was enough to make Mint realize just what she was trying to tell them about. Shooting a look to his friends, he called out, "Sandra!" His voice was laced with excitement. "She's trying to tell us something about Sandra!"

Rudy and Penny stared at each other. Their eyes widened at this revelation. This still did not help them make sense of some of her gestures, but the fact that she was trying to tell them about Sandra caught their attention. They looked back over at the crocodilian zoner, their interest piqued.

"Is that it, Mosaic?" Penny took a few steps forward. "Is that what you've been trying to tell us?" She reached her hand out slightly. "Are you trying to tell us something about Sandra?"

Mosaic nodded her head up and down. She let out a grunt and once again pointed her snout towards the bed. She emitted some low growls which Mint guessed were an attempt to communicate with them verbally.

Rudy looked from Mosaic, and then to the bed. He tilted his head in confusion, giving Penny a sideways glance. "I don't know what she could be trying to tell us about the bed."

Penny rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe she's trying to tell us about some kind of scent?"

"Well she's out of luck with that." Mint crossed his arms. "We can't smell anything."

"But we can get someone who can." Penny said. "Or we can draw a zoner who can help us."

Mint couldn't believe he didn't think of that himself. Penny was right. There were plenty of zoners here who had great senses of smell. They could sniff the blanket and see what Mosaic wanted to show them. They could also draw a zoner themselves to help them. He would gladly do that himself, since Rudy and Penny are more cautious than him when it came to drawing living zoners.

But before either of them could make their next move, a shadow fell upon them, and a low growl chilled them to the bone. Everyone froze. Mosaic let out a hiss and jumped back. Rudy, Penny, and Mint remained frozen, feeling someone's gaze boring straight through their backs.

"Aha! So I might have guessed! You are working with that little cretin after all!"

Mint gulped, and he exchanged a nervous glance with Penny and Rudy. Slowly, the three children turned around, looking behind them. They felt their hearts skip a beat when they saw it was Dr. Gelcro.

The dog doctor glared daggers at them, his lips curled back into a snarl. "I might have known you two were up to something! I should have realized this was your handiwork!"

"H-How did you...?" Penny spoke in a soft voice.

Dr. Gelcro smirked at her. "Next time, choose a method that masks your scent."

Terror rushed through the children's hearts as Dr. Gelcro stood in the door way. His fur was raised up, anger clearly etched on his face. His sharp teeth glinted in what little light there was. His tail swished violently from side to side. He looked ready to rip them apart. If it weren't for their status of being creators, he probably would be tearing them up right about now.

Mosaic growled at the dog zoner, but made no move to attack. She cringed away, crawling back towards the bed. Mint knew this was not a good sign. Just what as Dr. Gelcro capable of if even Mosaic wouldn't go after him? His heart pounded in his chest when he realized that, perhaps, Dr. Gelcro was involved in this conspiracy after all. Maybe he really was the one who framed Snap, and now he was coming after them.

"I see you were trying to brainwash Mosaic." Dr. Gelcro glared at the crocodile before looking back at the children. "Good thing I came in here. She will need some time to...recover."

"Please...she was trying to tell us something about Sandra!" Rudy pleaded. "You've got to listen! We..."

"Enough!" Dr. Gelcro's voice practically boomed in the room. Mint and the others took a few steps back, their bodies shaking in fear as Dr. Gelcro got into the room. He took in a few quick breaths in an effort to control yourself. "I thought we could trust you...at least you, Rudy." He looked over at the boy. "But I see I was wrong. You sided with Snap because he is your creation, and now you are..."

"He...us, we all sided with Snap because he is innocent! Please, if you would just listen...!" Penny pleaded.

Dr. Gelcro flattened his ears. "Shut up, brat!" Without warning, he stormed towards Penny and struck her across her face. The girl let out a yelp of pain as she was tossed into the ground. "You three need to learn how to hold your tongue!"

"Penny!" Rudy and Mint cried.

The two of them rushed to Penny's said. She had been knocked onto her back, her leg bent at an odd angle. It wasn't broken, but looking at it, Mint could tell that it aggravated her sprain injury. Her eyes were shut and her teeth clenched in pain. They winced as they saw the lacerations across her face, a bit of blood leaking out of them. The two of them helped her up, holding onto her arms to steady her.

Mint looked at Penny for a few moments, noting the pain she appeared to be in. He glared over at Dr. Gelcro, feeling his blood begin to boil. "How could you do that? She didn't do anything to you!"

Dr. Gelcro growled at him. "She was asking for it. If she didn't get in my way, she wouldn't have gotten hurt." Upon seeing the three children glare at him, he gave a cold laugh. "Oh ain't this rich! You three are still going to deny your involvement, eh? Well I'm warning you..." His ears pressed against his skull. "You will not have much of a chance slipping your lies past me. You see..I already took care of your little spy."

The three children stared at him in confusion. What was he talking about? They didn't bring anyone else with them. They didn't even have any spies to speak of. They couldn't believe, nor could they understand, how this siberian husky could jump to such illogical conclusions.

That was when Dr. Gelcro pulled something out from behind him. When they all saw what it was, they could feel their hearts stop beating. They were in absolute shock, unable to speak.

It was the bird that was drawn earlier. The small robin that had helped them into this room. It was limp and dead, dangling above the ground as Dr. Gelcro carelessly held it up by its leg. There was a deep gash in its neck, making them all realize, in cold terror, that Dr. Gelcro had ripped out its throat. A dark smile spread across his face as he noticed how horrified they looked. He moved the body from side to side, using enough force to let it swing around, lilke he wanted them to know just how dead it really was.

Then, his smile growing a bit more twisted, he tossed the bird towards them. They moved back, giving the small bird some space as it crashed into the ground, rolling across the hard surface before coming to a stop. Mosaic watched this, letting out a low hiss from where she stood.

The bird laid on its back, its wings spread out at its sides. The beak was partially open, as were the eyes. They were glazed over, showing no signs of life. They could see blood on its chest, and it didn't take them long to realize that it came from the gash in its throat. The blood was dark, almost black in color, and was caked to the small, thin features. The talons were flexed inward, limp and still, just like the rest of the bird's body.

A torrent of emotions welled up inside the kids' minds. They couldn't help but shoot a glare over at the zoner. They could not believe that he would do such a thing. How..how could he kill an innocent zoner like this? The bird had nothing to do with what happened on the day of the explosion, and it was not some spy. And yet this husky, this horrible excuse for a dog, he had the gall to accuse the bird of being a spy, but that wasn't good enough, no. He had went as far as slaughter the bird, and who knows what else he might have done to it...

Dr. Gelcro began to advance on them. "Now, you three are going to tell me what I want to know, or..."

He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Without warning, Dr. Gelcro began to flail. His foot got caught on something in front of him that he did not notice until it was too late. His foot immediately slipped upwards, making him lose his balance. He tried to steady himself, but he was not good enough. He fell backwards and landed on his back.

Mint and the others looked over to see what had happened. To their surprise, they saw Mosaic standing there, her paw raised up as if she had just tossed something. Was she the one who had thrown that rotten piece of fruit that laid on the ground, smeared?

Knowing they did not have much time, Mint turned to Penny. "Quick! While he's distracted! Activate the teleporter!" He released her arm so she could have use of one.

"Right!" Penny, still supported by Rudy, pulled out the device she had drawn earlier. She turned a knob, and it began to emmit glowing energy lines around them, engulfing all three of them.

Dr. Gelcro got up to his feet, holding his head and shaking it. He looked over at the children. His eyes widened and then they narrowed. "Oh no you don't.." He went down on all fours, his tail raised straight up in aggression. "You're not going anywhere!"

Dr. Gelcro bolted towards them, letting out a series of loud growls. The glow encompassed the children, getting brighter. They looked on in horror as Dr. Gelcro lunged towards them.

Then, just before he could get them, they vanished, leaving behind an empty space. Dr. Gelcro widened his eyes, realizing what was about to happen. Seconds later, he let out a loud whimper as he crashed into the ground. He coughed a couple of times as he pushed himself onto his heads. He lifted up his head and he glared towards where the trio had vanished. He let out a low growl.

"I'll get you for this." Dr. Gelcro threatened in a low voice. "I swear it..."

sss

Sandra narrowed her eyes as she watched the scene play out before her. She leaned against the wall of the alleyway, not wanting to be seen. If it weren't for her sense of smell and hearing, she would have missed this entirely.

In the distance, she had seen a flash of light. It was brief, and the light not as bright as one might have expected. When it had cleared, she could see the three forms that she had grown familiar enough with to recogize. It was Mint, Penny, and Rudy. She turned her head to where the hospital was, and then she looked back. She let out a soft growl, knowing full well what they had been up to.

It would seem that they were getting a little too nosey for their own good. Sandra had thought about leaving them alone, thinking that they would not get anywhere near to solving the puzzle before she could finish up. They had not shown any signs of realizing what was really going on, and she had been certain they would not any time soon.

But as she stared at them, her eyes narrowed, ears raised, she picked up some pieces of the conversation that had her worried. From what little she heard, from the connections she could make, with the hospital and all, she began to realize that things were not exactly going the way she had planned.

The children appear to be getting suspicious of her. The bits of conversation she had picked up revealed this. She wasn't sure how they were able to pull this off. She didn't know what happened that made them think that she might be involved somehow. She had been so careful with what she had told them in their previous attempts to interrogate her.

It was quite obvious, though, that their attempts were failing miserably. They not only suspected her, but she was certain that they felt they would find some kind of clue in the hospital. Perhaps they had tried to speak to Mosaic. At this, she growled and looked over at the hospital. She would have to make sure that Mosaic did not reveal anything important. She looked back at the children, watching them as they fled. She narrowed her eyes.

She was going to have to do something about them soon. She didn't want to have to do this. She didn't want to lift a claw against them. It was bad enough doing it against Snap. It was bad enough that she had to deal with her conflicting emotions, of feeling horrible about her actions towards him, and feeling excited for the way she was abusing him. She did not need another complication thrown out there.

Sandra thought, at first, maybe she could just do nothing. After all, it wasn't like Rudy and his pals were intending any actual harm. They were just worried for their friend and they were doing what any friend would: help.

But in the end, she knew that something still had to be done. She hated to do it, but they left her with no other option. She had to make sure that they did not become a problem later on. With how determined they were, she knew that they would keep trying, perhaps even increase their efforts no doubt. If she didn't take action soon, they could find out what she had done, and of course they won't listen to her and they'll have her arrested. She simply could not permit that, not while Snap still needed a lesson to be learned. Not while the promise she made had not yet been fulfilled.

Sandra narrowed her eyes as she shifted her gaze towards the hospital, and then back to where she had last seen the children. She was not yet sure what she was going to do, but she knew she would have to think of something.

If those three wanted to keep meddling in her plans, they were going to have to face the horns of the bull sooner or later.


	23. A Piece Of The Puzzle

Help! You know I've got to tell someone. Tell them what I know you've done! I fear you...

-Bleed, Evanescence

sss

Darnit, she had been so close. She was this close to telling the children what Sandra had been up to, and she still failed. She failed because of that miserable medicine giver. If he hadn't interrupted her, she would have succeeded.

Mosaic let out a sigh. There was nothing she could do about that now. The children were gone and likely not to come back. At least she helped make them more suspicious of her, if she pulled it off at all. Planting the seeds of doubt, as they would say, is better than nothing. If she wanted to make sure Sandra does not cause further harm, which would benefit her just as little as the medicine givers and the other zoners, than making the children suspicious enough to take action was the next best thing to outright exposure.

The crocodile zoner turned her head to where the medicine giver had fallen. At the moment, the space was empty. He had shot her a glare before storming out. She wondered if he was going to take any action against her for what she did. Maybe, though that hardly concerned her right now.

Still, she wished that she had done a better job. Sandra was not trustworthy. She didn't smell right. She did not give off good vibes. Everything about her was off. The way she was looking at her, too... It was almost like the way she would look at potential prey. The look, the eyes, of a predator. That could only have terrifying implications.

But what was she going to do, now that the children had lift and likely would not return? Should she try her luck with the medicine givers? No, they would not try to listen. They never did before, so why would they start now?

Her little incident with that one medicine giver may prove to be problematic later on. His behavior and his glare at her suggested that he knew that she tripped up his feet to buy the children time. He would tell the others. They would take action. She may end up trapped in that hard, miniature cave thing they built for her.

With that in mind, she realized that if she wanted to have a chance at increasing the odds of Sandra's capture, she would need to do something now. Time, she knew not how much had passed, and the longer she stood there, the more likely she was going to get caught. The medicine givers would likely bring the spasm stick. She wasn't sure what they called it. Electric...something. It made her body shake and lock up, and filled every pore with agony. They would use that on her if she were uncooperative.

She stared in the spot where they disappeared from. A sight she had not expected to see, and something she could not fully comprehend. It was as though their every existence had been ripped apart, like something invisible ate them and swallowed them whole. Every part of her crocodilian brain was telling her that they were dead and no more.

But another part of her wasn't so certain. She had a nagging feeling in the back of her head that they were alive, somehow. If they were..she would need to find them.

She lowered her head, narrowing her eyes in determination. She knew what she had to do.

But would it be enough? Would she find them in time? Even if she did, could she get them to understand her language? She had tried everything she could think of to get them to listen. They understood that she was referencing Sandra, and something about the bed, but they did not understad anything else she was telling them. She tried to make it as clear as possible for them, but even that was not enough.

No, she would need to try something else. She would need to find Sandra. She had her scent. She knew for certain Sandra was alive, and she knew where to find her. Regardless of the children's situation, if she were to find Sandra and deal with her on her own, then perhaps the problems would be fixed.

Mosaic made up her mind. She would travel outside, where she was almost never allowed to go. She would use the city's scents as roadmaps, evading other zoners and finding her way to Sandra supposedly made food. She would not allow her the upperhand this time.

Mosaic turned her head to where the dead feather thing was. Bird she believed it was called. She walked over to it, giving it a gentle nudge. The feathered thing did not move, not even a twitch. She raised her head up, tilting it to the side. She then shrugged her shoulders. She recalled how those humans seemed appalled at the killing of the bird. She would agree it was a waste, but she would rectify that. Knowing that the bird was not going to use its body anymore, she snatched it in her jaws. She flipped it up into the air and she caught it, and she bit down hard. She could feel blood dribbling out of her mouth as she swallowed it. She licked her jaws, lapping up what tasty salty fluids still remained.

With her snack done and over with, she turned her attention to the clear wall. The window as they would call it. She narrowed her eyes. She knew what her next move was going to be. Taking one more look behind her, to the angular tunnels, she made her way to the clear wall.

sss

"I can't believe we did that..." Mint breathed in and out. He leaned back against the wall, his eyes tilted upwards. "That was so close..."

Rudy nodded his head in Mint's direction. "At least we were able to get out of here." He lowered his gaze. "I just..hope this won't become a problem later on."

Mint glared over at Rudy. "I don't see how it couldn't! You know that Dr. Gelcro guy is going to spread the word! Next thing you know, we're going to have a bunch of zoners coming after us!"

Penny flinched at this. "I think you might be overreacting, Mint. I doon't think the zoners are going to try to capture us."

Mint was not convinced. He glared in Penny's direction, but decided to say nothing. He didn't think there was anything he could say for her to fully understand what he was talking about. And now wasn't a good time to be discussing that anyway.

He tried his best to push the anxiety feelings away, but he found it hard to do so. How could he ignore these feelings rising up inside? He had been anxious before, but this felt a bit stronger. The fear of what the doctor zoner might say about them, he couldn't completely dismiss it. It could get in the way of their investigation, and it may land them in bigger trouble. Not that he knew what the zoners could do with them since they were human, but he did not doubt their ability.

Perhaps a reason why he felt paranoid was the fact that he had been the Enemy Creator here for a few days in the past. He had caused untold destruction, and some of the zoners had not fully forgiven him. He would not be surprised if said zoners would use this incident as a reason to kick him out of ChalkZone.

He had to wonder about Rudy and Penny as well. How would the zoners react to when they find out that it wasn't just him sneaking into the hospital? Rudy and Penny had been there with him as well? They could simply think that they were on a mission, but what about the few who were so certain he was still a bad guy? Would they decide that Rudy and Penny turned as well? Would it blossom into an anti-human sentiment?

Perhaps he was thinking too much into this. Maybe Rudy and Penny were right, and that he should try to be more relaxed. Still, he could not fully dismiss his fear. He kept it in the back of his head, not wanting to let his guard down. He had experienced what Skrawl was capable of. He did not yet know what a lot of these zoners were capable of accomplishing. With that in mind, he would not let his guard down.

"So.." Mint said, wanting to get on with the subject at hand. "What is our next move?"

"Well, we already tried speaking to Mosaic and she couldn't provide us with much." Rudy said. He paused as he seemed to remember something. "Well except for the fact that Mosaic wanted us to smell the blanket." He bit his lip. "It seemed like that anyway."

"I believe you are right." Penny nodded her head in agreement.

"But what could she be wanting us to smell?" Mint raised his hands up in confusion. "I'm not sure what we could have detected there."

"If we had a stronger sense of smell, we could." Pennny narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "If only we were able to draw a zoner to help us identify the smell."

Mint recalled they were going to do something like that, but then Dr. Gelcro came into the picture and stopped them before they could. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes and clench his teeth at the mere thought of that doctor. They had been so close to finding out what Mosaic wanted to tell them, only for that guy to ruin everything. Now, because of him, they likely weren't going to be allowed back into the hospital.

They didn't have much else to go on. They didn't even have proof that Sandra was even a part of this whole fiasco. Mosaic could have been wrong, or trying to say something else about Sandra. For all he knew, maybe that croc was just begging them to bring them food from her restaurant.

Mint wished he knew more about his own creation so he could better judge if she could be responsible or not. If only he had erased her before his cousin modified her... He may have been able to prevent all this from happening... But then again, how could he have known? He could not have predicted this, and it wasn't like his cousin had any ill intentions; he did not know about ChalkZone. If Sandra were responsible, Mint would have to remind himself that it wasn't his planning. She decided to do this, not him.

He still wished that he could think of what Sandra could be doing. He had intended her to be a helper, someone to healed people. She was not supposed to be any sort of threat. The very idea of her being one shook him up. What had his cousin done with her mind when he erased her? What new purposes did he give her?

Well besides that restaurant of course. Owning a restaurant and serving zoners food was not exactly what he had in mind be particularly scary or harmful. So what...

"I think we better get going." Rudy said. Mint noticed he was looking away from them, towards the streets. "We do not want a potential scene slowing us down."

Mint followed Rudy's gaze and saw that a couple of zoners were looking in their direction. Doctors, looking like they were returning to duty. At least one of them, he recognized as one of the doctors who were suspicous of Snap. The way they were looking at them... Mint clenched his teeth. He wondered if Dr. Gelcro was spreading the word already.

Penny nodded her head. She looked over at the doctors nervously. Though there weren't too many and they hadn't made a move to threaten them, they all knew that staying here was not a good idea. They would have to get moving if they wanted to discuss their next move.

"I know we would rather avoid walking all the way to the treehouse..." Penny's words were full of truth. None of them wanted to waste time walking back and forth. "But I doubt we'll get much talking done here."

"I agree. Those doctors...they look like they want to say something to us." Mint kept his voice low. He wasn't sure if the doctors heard him or not. But their expressions...he looked away. He hoped that this won't become too much of a problem later on. They had enough to worry about. "Yeah, let's get going while we still have that chance."

Rudy took a few steps in one direction, the opposite from where the doctors were gathering up. He lifted up his hand, placing it above his eyes, and looked around. He turned to his friends and made a gesture with his head. "Come on. I think we should go this way. It would be the best choice."

Mint muttered under his breath. "It is the only way we can go."

Without another word, the children began to walk away. However, they weren't able to take too many steps before someone behind them spoke up.

"Hey you! Hold on there!"

Although they knew it was not the best idea, although they knew they had to leave, the three children froze at that command. They remained still, silence falling upon them. They could feel someone staring at them, their eyes sawing through their spines and out their chests. They felt as though they were paralyzed, unable to move. It took them a few seconds before they could work up the courage to turn around.

Behind them, they could see about four zoners. Two males and two females. They had looks of contempt on their faces. He couldn't tell if they were soley for him or if they were looking at his friends as well. The zoners didn't resume speaking to them right away, instead just glaring silently at them.

Mint clenched his teeth nervously. He wasn't sure what the zoners were going to do with them. They all looked quite angry, but he learned from experience that angered zoners didn't always attack. Although questions rang through his head, though it was easy for him to want to call out to them and demand to know what they were doing, with his status, he knew that was a bad idea. He remained silent.

Rudy was the one who broke the silence. "What do you want? My friends and I have something important we would like to discuss in private."

One of the doctors gave a sneer at this. "Are you plotting with the Enemy Creator?"

Mint flinched at this, feeling like something sharp spread through his chest. Even though he predicted it, that still hurt.

Rudy bared his teeth. "We are trying to help our friend. Snap was wrongfully imprisoned, and we want to sort that out."

A female doctor tilted her head to the side. "Oh really now?" Her voice was icy cold. "Are you in cahoots with him a swell?" Rudy widened his eyes at this. "Are you trying to help him escape so he can continue on his rampage?"

"Wh-What..?" Rudy spluttered. He took a step back. He raised his hands, placing them against his head. "Why would..." He tugged at his hair. Mint had a feeling that, if Rudy was not in control of himself, he would have ripped his hair straight out at this. "Why would you even think that? Of course we..."

"Dr. Gelcro over the phone told us what you were doing." A doctor interrupted him. He folded his arms against his chest. His lips were curled up into a snarl. "We have every reason to believe that you do not want to help ChalkZone at all."

The other female doctor bared her sharp teeth, pointing a sharp claw in their direction. The manner was a mixture of threatening and accusatory. "Tell us the truth! You were both brainwashed by the Enemy Creator and now you use that blue thing you call a friend to commit crimes against ChalkZone!"

Mint took in a sharp gasp at this, as did Rudy and Penny. They all stared at the zoner in shock, unable to believe what they heard. They glanced at each other, and then glared back at the zoners. Anger started to burn their insides.

How..how dare they say that... These zoners had no right to say something like that. They were jumping to conclusions, not even bothering to stop and think about how twisted their logic was. They all had already suspected some of the zoners would behave irrationally, but even then they were horrified when they heard the zoners admit to it.

"How dare you call our friend a thing.." Rudy growled under his breath.

The doctor zoners completely ignored this statement as one of them called out, "Admit it! Admit that you had been lying to us since day one!"

"Why would we ever..." Penny spoke, her voice sounding strained. It was clear she was struggling to keep herself from snapping at the zoners. "Why in the world would we ever do such a thing...?"

The first female doctor sneered. "I don't know, little girl. Why don't you tell us?"

"You know us better than this!" Rudy cried. "Why would you even think we would turn our backs on you?!" He raised his hands up in the air. The boy seemed partially unaware of his surroundings. He did not seem to notice some civilian zoners approaching, seeing what was going on. "We've done nothing but help you guys, and then you go and do this to us?!"

The first doctor gave a cold laugh at this. "Oh right, sure!" The three kids narrowed their eyes at how bitter that voice sounded. "You sure had us fooled! Of course the Enemy Creator there had been helping this entire time! Even when he was blowing the crap out of this place!"

Mint ground his teeth at this. He tried his best to ignore the stinging pain in his chest. He tried to ignore just how hurtful that comment was. He couldnot believe that zoner said that to him. He was becoming sick of all these comments against him. He was sick of being called the Enemy Creator. He was no longer working for Skrawl and he had been making amends ever since. He never once lifted a finger against ChalkZone since then. For them to even think...

He tried to calm himself down. He tried to remind himself that the zoners here were just scared. They weren't sure what to make of their predicament, and they were just jumping to conclusions based on their paranoid logic. The zoners had every right be upset with him. He wasn't exactly a mild threat. Still, he wished that they would stop living in the past.. They had a real emergency situation in the present, and they were not going to solve it by remaining stuck in the past.

Rudy took a step forward. He glared straight at the doctor who had spoken to Mint. He bared his teeth. "Now you see here! Mint has been paying his debt to ChalkZone ever since he defected from Skrawl! You know full damn well that he has changed!"

The doctor chuckled coldly at Rudy's statement. "How do we know it's not a lie? How do we know that the boy isn't waiting until we all let our guard down and he strikes again?" At this, the civilian zoners who had shown up started murmuring to one another. "The Enemy Creator has given little reason for us to trust him when he came. How do we know that this still isn't in effect?"

"Mint isn't an enemy!" Penny shouted. "Neither is Snap! They're your allies! How could you treat them like this?"

"Because they are not what we though they were. They are both criminals." The doctor zoner jeered, flashing his teeth at them. He looked over at Mint and took a few steps towards him. The other doctors followed, similar dark smiles on their faces as well. "Isn't that right, Mint? What was your excuse? Oh yes, that this was all a game. Well then, Mint, what do you think of this predicament? Do you still call this a game? Is this some master scheme of yours? Are you going to play with our minds for a while, while your new master, the blue cretin, takes over?"

Mint did not answer. He glared back at the doctor zoner. He could feel his body begin to shake in anger. He tried his best to hold back. He tried not to let anger get the better of him. He could not afford to lurch forward.

The doctor's twisted smile broadened at this, seeing the boy's building anger. "Are you going to attack me?" Mint's eyes widened at this. "Don't lie to me. I know exactly what you want to do, because I know what you are. You're nothing but a worthless liar. You and Snap... you both are working together, aren't you? What's your big plan? To break our morale so we will be easier to conquer? Is that it, Enemy Creator?"

Mint's body shook harder. He bared his teeth. He formed fists with his hands. He still held back. He still had enough strength to keep his feet firmly planted. But he had no idea how long this was going to last. How long would he be able to stop himself before he lost it? He could already feel his heart twisting painfully, yearning to take action.

Judging from their expressions, he could tell that Rudy and Penny weren't taking too kindly to this accusation either. They took position on either side of him, standing beside him protectively. They were offering silent support, glaring at the doctors. They said not a word. Mint did feel a little better with their presence, comforted, but how long would it last before he would lose it?

Then the doctor zoner gave the breaking blow.

"Maybe that's why you broke Snap's back. Maybe it was all part of this plan!" Mint's eyes widened in horror at this, and then they narrowed as he growled. "You and Snap were planning this a long time! You broke his back and later you ensured that you would lose your leg!" The doctor pointed at Mint's prosthetic leg. "That way, we would sympathize with you two and we would not realize what was really going on!"

The second female zoner sneered, "Yeah! Either that or you used Snap's broken back for an excuse to begin a new plan separate from Skrawl! Maybe this is the next step in your horrid scheme, Enemy Creator!"

Mint became unaware of what was being said after that point. All the voices sounded so far away, as if they were happening elsewhere. He stared at the doctor zoners who had accused him of such atrocities. He could feel his body tremble, anger echoing in his head. He closed his mouth, pushing his teeth against one another tightly. He ground them so hard, he thought his teeth would pop out of his jaws.

He thought he could hear the sound of his friends trying to defend him. He could hear how angry and distressed they were at the zoners' accusations. He could hear the doctors mocking them, saying some more twisted things. But he could heardly register them. He didn't register anything around him. Right now, he was only aware of those zoners and himself, as if they were just in a black void.

He tried to keep his cool. He tried to keep himself calm. He knew nothing good would come out of him losing his temper. But something about what the zoners said caused something inside of him to snap.

And there was no going back.

Without realizing what he was doing, Mint rushed forward, letting out a cry of anger as he did so. He heard Rudy and Penny cry in horror. He could feel their hands grab him, try to stop him. He easily slipped past them and continued his charge towards the zoners. The doctor's eyes widened at his approach and they took a step back, but this hardly registered in his clouded, rage-filled mind. When he got close enough, he lunged into the air and collided with the zoner, sending him falling to the ground.

Mint wished he had stopped there. He wished he had backed off. But he did not stop. He continued to allow his rage to control him. Glaring hatefully at the zoner, he pulled his fist back and began to punch him.

sss

"Mint! Stop!" Rudy pleaded with his friend. He rushed forward, grabbing onto his shoulder. "Please, you have to stop this! You're hurting him!"

"Please, let him go!" Penny begged him.

Rudy tried again and again to reach his friend. He tried to get him to snap out of it. But none of his words appeared to reach the boy. He and Penny looked on in horror as Mint kept assaulting the zoner. They could see the look in his eyes. Rudy shuddered at the sight of them. They were so filled with anger and rage... It was like Mint wasn't even there.

What was most terrifying is that...they had seen this look before. This was the same look he had given them, the same expression in his eyes, when he had lost it when he still worked for Skrawl. He had beaten up Penny pretty badly, and now he was doing the exact same thing to this doctor. Although Rudy was quite peeved with this zoner, he did not think he deserved this kind of attack, and he knew he and Penny had to stop it before it got worse.

"No! Release him!" Penny grabbed onto Mint's right arm, pulling him back. "You have to stop this!"

Rudy grabbed onto Mint's left arm. "Cease your attack, Mint! Snap out of it!"

Working together, the two were able to pull the infuriated Mint away from the doctor zoner. They kept dragging him back, putting distance between the two. They stopped when they were about ten feet away. They held onto Mint, who was growling in anger, struggling against their grip. They looked down at him, and then at each other, worried glances plastered over their face. They then looked forward, to where the zoners were watching.

The civilian zoners looked absolutely horrified. Some had taken a step back. A few others had hands over their mouths, wide-eyed. Two were glaring at them. The doctors were all gathered around their fallen comrade. They shot hateful glares at them as they helped their comrade up to his feet.

The doctor at Mint had began to beat up didn't look too bad, but it was still worse than they thought it would be. There were several bruises on the zoner's face, some a bit deeper purple than they would have expected. His clothes were a bit dirtied up and they could see a trickle of blood move down the corner of his mouth. His hair looked a little messed up. His legs trembled as his fellow doctors kept him up on his feet. He stared at Mint with a look of horror, and then his eyes narrowed into slits, his ragged breathing filling their ears.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the ground. Mint glared back at the doctor he had just attacked. His lips were curled back, exposing his teeth as he panted gravelly. He had given up struggling, but he still had that wild look in his eyes. This lasted for a few seconds before, at least, realization seemed to dawn on him. Slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes and mouth relaxed, and they shifted into a new expression: horror.

"Oh..oh no I..." Mint said softly. He looked at the ground, his eyes filling with terror. "I..I..." He looked back at the doctor. The zoner's accusing glare at him made Mint turn away, closing his eyes. "What have I done..?" He whispered in a low voice.

Rudy and Penny looked at their friend sympathetically. It was clear how much this was affecting him. He had never wanted to hurt another zoner since he found out they were real. And now he had lost his temper, lost control of himself, and he attacked a zoner viciously for the first time since that incident a few years ago. They couldn't imagine how tormented he must feel inside.

The doctors, however, weren't so sympathetic, not that they were surprised. They had just watched a comrade of theirs be brutally attacked after all, and by the same human they had feared a few years ago. But that didn't make right how they were treating their friend.

"What did you do? Oh I'll tell you what you did!" The second female zoner snapped at him. "You attacked our friend, you miserable pile of shit!"

The other male zoner nodded his head. "You nearly broke his jaw!"

Rudy could feel the tension in the air rising. He looked all around, realizing that if they didn't get out of here soon, something worse could easily happen. He looked at Penny, who gave him a similar look of horror. She was thinking the same thing as he was.

Rudy looked down at Mint. He hadn't said a word since his realization. He would have fallen onto his knees if it weren't for the fact that he and Penny were holding him up. Mint's body was trembling, but this time not from anger, but rather horror. His eyes were wide, staring at the ground as his mind was trying to comprehend what had just happened.

The doctor zoner he had attacked was back on his feet. He jerked himself away from his fellow doctors, and he took a few steps towards Mint. The three kids tensed up, Mint especially. He looked at the doctor, taking in quick breaths as he clearly wondered what he was going to do to him.

The doctor curled his lips back into a snarl. Mint winced at this, cringing away. "You really think you're special don't you? You think that, just because you did a few good errands, that you are some kind of hero." The zoner's words were made of ice, with a bit of heat rising off of them. "Well look at yourself. You aren't fooling anyone. You just shown your true colors. You attacked me...and you still expect us to believe that you somehow changed, Enemy Creator...?"

Mint took in a few shaky breaths. "I-I'm sorry.."

"You're sorry? Do you think any one of us will buy that bullcrap?!" The doctor zoner snarled at him. "Take a look around you! Do any of them look convinced?!"

Rudy and his friends looked around the room slowly, seeing all the zoners glaring at them. They flinched at this, tensing up. Not one of the zoners was giving them a sympathetic look. They all looked at them, their eyes narrowed and many of them with their teeth bared. A handful of them looked afraid, and had moved back even further. Although none of them had made a move, the implication was rather clear.

Mint's little stunt may have just complicated matters further. Rudy did feel bad for how Mint was treated, but now he could feel some anger towards his friend rising up. Mint should have been more careful with his actions. Now, because of him, the whole mission may have gone sour.

But he couldn't worry about that right now. They had to get out of here and recupirate somewhere else. The tree house seemed to be the best place right about now. The sooner they got out of here, the better. He wasn't sure how long the doctors were going to stand there before they made a move against Mint, him, or Penny.

Feeling the tension rising up in the air all around him, Rudy turned to Penny. "Come on, we have to get out of here."

Penny nodded her head. She looked down at Mint, tugging on his arm. "Let's go, Mint."

Mint, though barely responsive, did what he was told. The three children backed away slowly from the crowd of fearful zoners. The realization that they may have broken their trust with the zoners stabbed them in the hearts. They had never wanted something like this to happen. Mint, seeming to realize just how much his actions might have cost them, lowered his head in shame.

Rudy knew they couldn't dwell on the matter right now. They needed to get back to the treehouse fast, and continue their discussion there. They could figure out what to do about the zoners later. They could always make it up to them later.

Silently, ignoring any other cruel comments from the doctor zoners, the group of children turned around and walked away.

sss

The scents all around her... they cascaded alongside each other, creating a criss cross of variety unlike anything the medicine givers could ever hope for. If the scents were visual, Mosaic knew that they would create a multitude of color, all sorts of shades of blue, and perhaps whatever colors she was unable to see. It would have been a beautiful site.

But she did not let her brain stay on that subject for long. She was on a hunt of sorts. A mission she knew she had to complete. She shifted her mind back to the topic at hand, her eyes furrowed in determination. She raised her nose in the air and sniffed.

She hadn't been able to find Sandra's food maker place despite remembering the directions. It wasn't until she got out of the artificial cave that she realized that she could not understand the full concept of a city. It took her all her will power to keep herself from freaking out. The lights, the sounds, everything, it all bombarded her senses and she nearly passed out when she walked far enough into the city.

Luckily, she was able to calm herself down. She reminded herself that, as strange as this place was, it was just another bit of handiwork by these strange zoners all around her. She couldn't allow it to scare her away from her mission, and she kept walking forward.

She turned her head from one side to the other. She did not see anything that looked like it would be where Sandra was. Yet, she could be wrong. What did she know? She never even saw the place herself. She would just have to rely on her nose and try to track her down. That zoner was around here somewhere. She would find her, somehow.

Suddenly, she saw a flash of color beside her. She stiffened up, turning her head around to follow that movement. Her eyes nearly missed it; a blur of movement in the corner of them. Then again, on the other side. She swiveled her head, trying to keep up.

After a while, Mosaic let out a roar of frustration. She didn't pay attention to whether or not any of the zoners could see her. She pawed at her face, shaking her head. Something was messing with her, and she was about to find out. Narrowing her eyes, seeing another movement of shadow, she growled and bolted off after it.

She zigzagged left and right, her feet pounding the ground, her tail flying out behind her. Whoever this was, whoever was messing with her, she would make sure they stopped. She did not take kindly to being teased like this.

She lunged to the side, skidding across the ground as she looked in a partial tunnel, created by tall structures they called buildings. She could see the shadowy figure in front of her. They had stopped running, and it looked as though they were facing her. Mosaic panted heavily a few times. She shook her head and then began to walk sowly towards the zoner. Slowly, cautiously, unsure if there was any danger or not, she approached the figure, walking with her stomach nearly touching the ground.

Slowly, the figure seemed to turn their head towards her completely, as if to ensure that both eyes were on her. Mosaic paused, feeling a rush of cold in her body. She shrugged it off and kept on moving forward, baring her teeth defensively. Then the figure's long, rabbit-like ears were raised, and the crocodile froze in her tracks.

She felt a mixture of two emotions swell up inside of her. On the one hand, it would seem like her search was over. But on the other, she didn't exactly plan on what she was going to do when she found Sandra.

But it wasn't like Sandra was going to give her much time to really think of that. She adopted a hostile stance, holding her hands out at her sides. She scraped the ground with her foot, swishing her tail from side to side. A few times, the tail would clang against the ground, beating it in a clear threat to Mosaic. There was no way she was going to ignore threat. Growling softly, Mosaic pawed the ground and ran towards Sandra.

sss

Penny stared over at Mint sympathetically. Today hadn't exactly gone the way they had planned. But then, how could any of them predicted what would have happened? None of them knew they'd have that bad encounter with the zoners. None of them knew that Mint was going to lose his temper and attack one of them. It was all one unfortunate day, and she knew the only thing they could do right now is hope that it doesn't get worse before they could fix it.

Mint hadn't said much since they got back to the tree house again. He was staring off into the distance, a somewhat haunted look in his eyes. Penny could tell, just from looking at him, how horrible he felt that things went the way they did. She hoped that he wouldn't dwell on it too much. They can try to fix things later.

Right now, there wasn't a lot of time left to discuss things. She and Rudy wanted to try to cheer Mint up more. They had attepted as they headed towards the tree house, but it didn't seem like their words reached him.

And at the moment, it was getting late. Penny knew they had spent a lot longer in ChalkZone than they had meant to, and if they didn't leave soon, they risk getting caught by their parents. So right now, the best thing they could do was come up with a plan for tomorrow, and stick with it. With today's incident, Penny would rather they have a plan for tomorrow so they could figure out a way to circumvent the zoners just in case.

And she knew exactly what they should do.

"We need to go to Sandra's restaurant." Penny's voice was clear as stone, making sure she pronunciated everything correctly. She did not want them to misunderstand anything she said. "I'm certain that is where Mosaic wanted us to go."

"The restaurant?" Rudy didn't sound so certain. "But why? What could we find there?"

"It wouldn't hurt to look, right?" Penny inquired. She raised her hands up. "Besides, you remember how she acted when we nearly went down the wrong path. She practically freaked out and yelled at us to go the other way." She placed a curved finger under her chin. "Now why do you think that is?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Well, I do agree that it is strange, but..." He looked at Penny. "What could we find there? And where would we even look? We don't know what we are looking for. And then there's Sandra..." He bit his lip. "If she did do anything..how would we get past her?"

Penny realized that Rudy had a good point there. How were they going to get into the restaurant without Sandra noticing? She leaned back against the wall, her legs crossed on the beanbag chair. She folded her arms against her chest, trying to think of what they could do.

The prospect of sneaking in came to her mind. She winced at the idea, recalling how badly it ended for them at the hospital. But..they didn't have much of a choice, did they? She knew there was no way Sandra was going to let them in the back part of her restaurant so long as she was there. She had already shown just how much she hated the idea of them being back there. So sneaking in was the only way they could get to where they needed to go.

It was now a matter of how were they going to get in... That was a tough question. Penny didn't want to try invisibility again, since it did not have such pretty results. She bit her lip at the memory of that poor bird, killed because Dr. Gelcro thought it was a spy.

She clenched her teeth hard. Dr. Gelcro... If she ever saw him again, she would...

No, she had to keep her cool. She could not allow herself to lose her temper. She could not, they could not, afford another incident like with Mint. As much as she wanted to take some kind of action against Dr. Gelcro, she would have to hold it off, and focus on what was really important: clearing Snap's name.

Penny still wasn't certain how involved Sandra was in this whole thing. But she and the others could definitely agree that she might be a piece of the puzzle. She seems to keep cropping up. It was her invitation that led Snap into that building where he was nearly killed by the explosion. Mosaic appeared to be trying to tell them something about Sandra. Then Mint told them about how unstable Sandra might be. And she did buy fireworks from that one guy. Sandra's name seemed to be all over this case.

Even if Sandra did no do it, it was clear to them all that she was a puzzle piece they could not afford to lose. She tied in this case rather well, even if they didn't know her full involvement.

Just then, before she could continue thinking, Mint, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up.

"I just thought of something."

Penny and Rudy looked over at the older boy. His head was still down, but his body had been straightened up. His eyes were no longer of sadness, but instead of realization, as if something just came to his mind. They wondered what he could have thought of.

"Well I told you that I intended Sandra to be a healer of sorts, right?" Mint asked. At this, Rudy and Penny nodded. "Well, if she still had those abilities, and if she were the one who was messing with Snap, could she be the reason why the MRI scans always fail to find something?"

This question sent a lightning bolt through their heads. The two kids looked at each other. Expressions of shock and bewilderment plastered over their faces. They then looked back at Mint. Their minds raced, attempting to wrap around their heads, trying to comprehend this.

Rudy was the first one to respond. "But...Sandra couldn't have done anything. She wasn't anywhere near the scanner room."

Penny realized Rudy was right. "Yeah, that's true." She looked over at Rudy. "She wouldn't have been able to do anything because the doctors would have been there, and if they saw, they would have stopped her."

"Not really."

"What?" Rudy and Penny said, confusion lacing their voices.

"They could only stop what they can see." Mint said. "But what if they did not?"

Rudy and Penny had no idea what Mint was talking about. The zoners weren't blind. At least, none of the doctors were. They would have seen Sandra messing with the equipment. They would have seen her trying to sabotage it. There was just no way they couldn't have noticed. They would have to be complete idiots to miss something like that. And they knew the zoners weren't stupid.

Penny understood why Mint felt this way. Sandra was his creation after all. Or rather, partially, since her design was slightly altered by another creator, his own cousin, as well as her personality. Mint knew Sandra, and yet he did not. It was a confusing conflict that ultimately resulted in Mint being unfamiliar with his own creation.

"Think about it." It was clear Mint was still adament about this idea of his. He was not backing down. "If Sandra were the culprit, she could have messed with the security, and done something then. She could have tampered with something, somehow, and the doctors did not notice. If she is as good with anatomy as I had intended her to be, as well as being knowledgable with medical supplies, she could pull this off."

Rudy widened his eyes at this. "That...that just might explain it..."

"But we still don't know." Penny pointed out. "We don't know if Sandra was involved in that. We don't know how involved she really is with this cae. We have her as a suspect, but that's it." She turned her attention to Mint. "Do you have any idea how we can check your theory?"

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah...but I don't know how we can pull it off."

"What is your idea?" Penny asked.

Mint paused for a moment. His eyes furrowed, looking towards the ground. He was trying to think of an answer, his mind's gears clearly turning. Penny wondered if the idea he had was going to be difficult to pull off or what.

Then Mint looked back at them, staring at them intently. His sentence was short, but to the point.

"We need to get Snap rescanned, away from the hospital and away from Sandra."

sss

Mosaic let out a pained screech as she was slammed into the ground. She tried to get up, but her body ached. She laid there, quivering as she opened up one eye. She looked over at where her attacker was. She let out a low, fearful hiss, but she knew it would do nothing to stop her opponent from approaching her.

From where she was laying, the figure appeared to be nothing but a shadow. Standing tall on two legs, a spiked tail swishing from side to side, the figure approached her slowly, letting out a low growl. Mosaic tried again to get up, but her feet slipped underneath her and she fell back down. She let out a few shudders, trying to cope with the pain.

"I didn't want to do this to you. I am so sorry that I did." Sandra said as she approached the fallen crocodile zoner. She glared down at her, a look of sadness, mostly filled with anger, filling her facial features. "You should have heeded my warning and left."

Mosaic wanted to get up and flee, but she was in too much pain to move, and too much fear on top of that. Sandra had been one brutal attacker. Even if she never attacked with her teeth, her kicks were quite powerful, and that's not even getting into the spiked tail of hers. Mosaic was beaten all over, covered in some cuts and several bruises. She had definitely seen better days. In her state, she was no condition to run, left alone fight. If Sandra decided to end her now, she could and there'd be nothing she could do about it.

Mosaic was absolutely shocked by this turn of events. She hadn't expected Sandra to put up such a good fight. She was relatively thin. It didn't seem like there was a lot of muscle on her body. She never would have thought that she would perform as well as she had.

This absolutely terrified the crocodile zoner. She had a feeling that Sandra was holding back. She wasn't biting after all. And the way she fought... Mosaic was certain that Sandra was not showing her full strength. And if this is what she could do at half strength...

...then what was she like at full strength...?

Mosaic shuddered when she felt Sandra's hand on her head. Normally, she would bite, but not wanting to get hurt, she held still, doing little else than hiss as Sandra stroked her on top of her head.

"I don't know why you are doing this." Sandra said. She gave the crocodile zoner a small smile. One filled with sadness and a tinge of something else she could not identify. "You don't really stand much of a chance in telling them anything. Nobody here listens to what an animal has to say. They will just think you are playing games with them."

Mosaic hissed at this. She attempted to stand up again. She didn't get far, and her body fell against the ground. She hit against one of her injuries and she let out a howl of pain.

Sandra's ears lowered and she big her lip. "I'm sorry it ended up being this way. I will make it better, I promise." She stroked her head again, her feather fingers running lightly over her scaly, leathery body. Mosaic growled, but made no attempt to bite. "After this whole fiasco is over, and that should be soon, I will help you."

Help her? Yeah right. Mosaic would have done that thing they call laugh if she could. She did not know why Sandra was saying such things. It was quite obvious that she was no friend of hers.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. Mosaic froze, wondering what brought about this sudden change in demeanor. "But I must warn you. Do try to stay out of my way. No more trying to tell anyone what's going on, understand?" Sandra gripped Mosaic's mouth, sealing it shut. She twisted her head to one side rather painfully, causing Mosaic's legs to kick. "I have had this all planned out perfectly, and everything will work out all right in the end... provided that you don't do anything to screw things up." Sandra growled softly. "I promise you...things will not be very pleasant if you continue to interfere. If you thought what I did to you today was painful, you hadn't seen anything yet. Believe me, I can make your day a living nightmare. I can do so much worse to you than what I did today."

Mosaic's eyes widened at this. She stared up at the dragon zoner in fear. Adrenaline pumped through her body. Every part of her brain was telling her to flee. If it weren't for the pain in her legs, she would have ran off by now, or at least tried to bite her.

She had to get away, somehow. But how? She was trapped here. Sandra had her cornered, pinned on the ground. Her body had sustained multiple injuries, and pain wracked thorugh her body. If she tried to move around too much, she was going to hurt herself even more. She could barely even tell where the pain was coming from, just that it was going to get worse if she did anything to provoke the dragon further. So she just laid there, staring at her in fear, her head turned away in submission.

Sandra smiled at this. "That's a good girl. See how easier things are when you cooperate? Trust me, everything is going to be okay. Just wait and see." She lowered her head and gently nuzzled Mosaic. "Please do not try to tell the others what is going on, okay? I have everything under control. As soon as Snap learns his lesson, or does not, I will release him and he will be just fine." She narrowed her eyes slightly. "But he will not be fine if you interrupt the plan. You could easily screws things over, and it won't be beneficial to anyone. So stay out of it. Do you understand?"

Mosaic did the only thing she could do. She nodded her head weakly.

"Good, good..." Sandra raised herself up. She looked down at the crocodile's prone form, eyeing her up and down. "Come on, let's get you back to the hospital. I'm sure the doctors are wondering where you are."

Mosaic did not protest as Sandra lifted her up into her arms. She was both impressed and horrified that Sandra, despite not being that much difference in size, could lift her up with ease. She had to wonder just how strong she was.

Mosaic also wondered just what she was going to do now. A part of her nagged her in the back of her head that she needed to tell someone about what was going on. But she also recalled Sandra's words. Those taunting, mocking words she spewed out, about how she was not going to be able to tell anyone. Though she'd love to prove her wrong, she knew the zoner made a good point. She couldn't use a spoken language like what the medicine givers used.

Even if she could speak, would they listen to her? Or would they dismiss her for not being like them? Would they think her words had less meaning if she did not walk around dressed up like doctors like the res tof them? The thought frustrated her. But in the end, she knew Sandra made a good point.

And she found it hard to control this growing fear in her stomach. She thought about Sandra's little threat, and remembered how her claws and tail felt against her skin. She shuddered in fear. Even as Sandra now cradled her gently and was carrying her slowly to the hospital, she still cringed at her touch. There was no doubt in her head that she now feared this zoner, and was terrified of her capabilities.

Still, in the end, she knew what had to be done. She knew, despite Sandra's threats, she had to figure out a way to ensure that Rudy, Penny, and Mint knew of Sandra's involvement. She knew that one way, or another, she would have to ensure that she did whatever it took to stop Sandra.

It was clear to her that Sandra was far too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. She had to tell someone, anyone, about what she has been up to. If she were allowed to walk free...

...what else might she do?


	24. A Chance Underground

I'm searching...searching... There must be something real...!

-Jacob's Dream, Days Of Fire

sss

The next day, Rudy made sure he and his friends didn't waste any time. They had already agreed upon what they were going to do in ChalkZone today. They met up with each other briefly before school. They only had about half an hour leeway so they really had to do a lot of talking. During this discussion, they all agreed that they should get Snap's brain scanned again, but this time, change things around a bit.

At the moment, Sandra was still a suspect. The possibility of her killing zoners and eating them still had them shaken up, and the fact that she appears to keep coming up, and Mosaic was trying to tell them something about her, among other things, they were wondering if she really was doing something with the scans. They could not exactly pinpoint what could be the root of those problems, how she would be pulling them off. But if she really was the culprit, then they knew what they had to do.

They had to find a way to get a scan done that she was not aware of. This means they had to be careful discussing it in public. They could not risk a random zoner hearing it, because said random zoner might decide to go to Sandra's Alcove, and she'd learn about it. And even if she wasn't the culprit, they still had to be careful. They still had no positive identity going on with the culprit, so any zoner they pass by in ChalkZone could be responsible.

There was still some suspicion towards Dr. Gelcro. The zoner seemed too eager to throw Snap in jail, and he was quite accusatory and threatening to them before. Perhaps it was just emotions running wild, but that doctor was still high on their list of suspects.

At the moment, they focused on Sandra. Out of the suspects they thought of, including Mosaic, she was the most involved. She was the one who sent the invitation to the party. She was the one who bought those fireworks. She was the one that Mosaic was trying to tell them about. Dr. Gelcro did show anger and frustration towards Snap, but it was not a right away thing. Sandra, on the other hand, was there since the beginning. While this did not automatically convict her or anything, it did put her in the forefront of their thoughts.

They spent most of their short time trying to figure out how they were going to succeed in getting this scan done without Sandra knowing about it. They had originally thought of doing it in the jail itself. There was a bit of debate on that, however, and it was decided that the wardens probably wouldn't have any kind of machine, or space for such a machine, to be used.

Another location would be preferable. It was brought up that Sandra knows Snap is in jail. They weren't sure of what her schedule was like in the day, but for all they knew, she might come over and find out what's happening and sabotage it. If he were moved to a new location, however, and the scan done there, then they might stand a chance. If Sandra was involved, and if she did not know about the scan, then whatever Dr. Crobat had spotted on the monitor would be made known to them. They would learn what was wrong, and be able to confirm that Sandra was the culprit.

But there was still a problem. It was something that took them a while to figure out, and they nearly ran out of time because of it. It was still an important question that had to be asked.

Just how were they going to get Snap out of jail temporarily? How would they convince the wardens to let him out for a short while? And where would they go?

They talked for what felt like hours to Rudy even though it was just a few minutes. They discussed what they could do to ensure them pulling this off. It may require a lot of negotiating with the wardens, but Penny was certain they could pull it off, perhaps compromising by letting one of the wardens come with to supervise or something.

Still, that was not a guarantee. The wardens could still resist or think they were up to something. They might think they were trying to trick them. Or they would just be sticklers for rules and not let Snap out at all.

But still they knew they had to try. There wasn't much else they could do except...try and hope for the best. They didn't really have many ideas on how they could get Snap out, and in the end, it was all hinging on the wardens, if they would be willing to let Snap get his brain scanned. If the wardens refuse to listen, well there wasn't much they could do about that. If they attempted to break their friend out, that would create all sorts of new problems that they'd have to deal with. That was the last thing any of them needed.

But even if they could convince the wardens to let them try another brain scan, but in a new location, they still needed to figure out where they could take Snap. On top of that, they would need to find someone who was willing to do it. As Mint reminded them, a lot of zoners in ChalkZone hated Snap now because they all thought he was the one who killed their loved ones. They didn't know how many zoners even trusted Snap now, with all the nasty rumors that were spreading and what not. Blocky and Rapsheeba were two that still sided with them, and Lars and Howdy and a handful of other zoners.

But none of them were doctors. Well Rapsheeba knew of some first aid skills, but that was not going to help them with the scan. She did not know how to operate such machinery. Same thing with any zoner they thought of who would still be willing to help Snap.

Penny soon suggested that they speak to Rapsheeba when they came back into ChalkZone later. They could try to meet her at her home, the one that was partially in both zones. Maybe she would know of a doctor that could help them. Specifically a trustworthy doctor, not one that was going to blab their location to the culprit or bring a mob of zoners or anything.

Not that Rapsheeba would ever deliberately lead them estray, but there was that chance that a doctor she thought she could trust was really just using her. The same way that Sandra could have been using Snap... They shook the thought out of their heads.

Looking for Rapsheeba might be a little difficult, considering what happened the other day. Rudy was certain that Mint's little stunt may have been quite costly. His attack on the doctor, and the witnesses...there may be rumors about them spreading around now. The thought was rather unsettling, and Rudy found it difficult to ignore it. How could he dismiss something like that? It was impossible. It shook him and his friends up, and they all knew that this could complicate things later on for them.

The zoners might stop them. They might try to chase them out. They might go as far as attempt to have them arrested. There were a number of things that could happen. They might be exaggerating in their heads, but the fear was still there. They had already witnessed how hostile some of these zoners could get. And the potentiality of having all that turned against them... It did not leave a good feeling in their stomachs.

But they couldn't worry about it right now. Rudy would love to try to fix things as soon as possible. He wanted to confront the zoners and tell them that Mint hadn't meant to lose his temper and attack. He wanted to assure the zoners that everything was going to be all right. But unfortunately, that had to wait. They had to prove that Snap was innocent first. Only in doing that could they begin to mend their relationship with the zoners.

It was going to be a difficult journey. Rudy and his friend expected nothing less. They all knew how challenging it was going to be. They knew that, even if Rapsheeba could help them, she might not be able to provide information that they could use. She may be at a loss, and the wardens might not even let them take Snap out at all.

But they would not give up. They'd keep trying. Whoever had hurt Snap, whether it be Mosaic, Dr. Gelcro, or Sandra, or even someone else, they would find out. And they would make them pay.

Rudy turned his attention to Penny and Mint. They had just arrived in ChalkZone, and they were now running up towards him. He smiled as they approached, waving to him as they came over. He stepped out from underneath the chalk tree he was waiting underneath and greeted them.

"Hello, guys!" Rudy called out, smiling to his friends.

"Hello!" The two of them answered back in unison.

The two kids approached Rudy until they stood only a few feet away from him. They panted a few times to catch their breath. They looked like they had been running a while. It was little wonder why they did. They all had come into ChalkZone from their own homes, and they all had agreed on a meeting place. They all lived a good distance away from each other. Even though they found a middle ground area that was roughly equal distance, that didn't mean that it wouldn't take something out of them.

At least they were here now, and they could begin their plans for today. Rudy knew that, as soon as his friends were rested up, they would begin their journey towards Rapsheeba's New Place. They weren't too concerned with running into any zoners along the way, but it was still possible, and they all agreed they would have to be prepared, so they all had their own pieces of chalk with them.

"So do you think Rapsheeba will be home?" Mint asked.

"She should be. I haven't heard anything about a concert lately." Penny replied. "One of us would have noticed. She is quite a popular singer. At least one zoner would have been talking about it during our investigation."

Rudy nodded his head. "She is probably at home, entertaining Zibble and Blotz."

Mint tilted his head at this. "Zibble and Blotz?" He furrowed his eyes with confusion. Then he shook his head slowly. "I..don't think you told me about those two."

"Really?" Rudy scratched his head. "I could have sworn we did. You've been with us for a couple years, and we haven't introduced you?"

"I'm afraid not. I would have remembered names as weird as those." Said Mint.

Rudy ignored the mild insult as he said, "Well they are two child zoners who were drawn by Mr. Wilter."

Mint put his hand to his mouth and chortled. "What?" He choked back a laugh. "Are you kidding me? Mr. Wilter?!" Rudy and Penny just stared at him. They nodded their head once, and Mint's smile broadened. "Oh that's something! Mr. Wilter, anti-cartoonist, actually created something!"

Penny narrowed her eyes. "He drew them when he was just a kid."

Mint's smile did not fade. "Oh really?"

"Yeah." Rudy couldn't ignore Mint's attitude anymore. He folded his arms against his chest. "From what was overheard, his father made him erase them...or his dad did, I can't remember that detail." Rudy made a swift gesture with his hand. It had been a long time since he last heard the story. "But anyway, that was why Mr. Wilter hates cartoons. His dad did, and if he did that with Zibble and Blotz, I think it's safe to say that any and all of Mr. Wilter's old drawings were treated the same way. So Mr. Wilter hates them through association."

"Oh..." Mint lowered his gaze. His expression had softened up. He bit his lip, looking left and right. "I'm...I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

Rudy pressed on, as he was not yet done with the story. "Zibble and Blotz, because they were only partially erased, appeared as mere apparitions. Ghosts. They were not complete, and they had been like that for a long time."

Penny flinched at the memory. "Poor little guys..." She looked straight into Mint's eyes. "Since they were drawn when Mr. Wilter was just a child, that meant that Zibble and Blotz were trapped in limbo for decades. Can you imagine what that must have been like for them?"

"I...I don't think I can.." Mint's voice was slightly shaky. "I'm sorry for laughing, you guys. I..I didn't mean it." He lowered his head in shame. "Yeah, there's nothing funny about that story."

Rudy did not press the matter any further. He gave Mint a quick smile, as did Penny, before turning his attention to the topic at hand. "We should leave now. If we want to stand a chance at catching Rapsheeba, we should leave now before she decides to run out and do some errands."

"I thought you said she'd be at the house." Mint inquired.

"Well yeah, but sometimes she goes into town for different things, like if she wants to style her hair or get a new outfit or something." Penny said. She paused for a moment. "Well a casual outfit that she isn't going to be using for anything special. She has one particular location where she gets her costumes."

Rudy shuddered at this. "Please don't remind me."

Penny looked over at him, her expression softening up. "I'm sorry, Rudy."

Mint looked between the two. Confusion plastered over his face. He raised his arms up and said, "What happened? Did Rapsheeba do something to you?"

"No, I..." Rudy rubbed his head, waving his other hand out in front of him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Why..." Mint started to say. Penny immediately put her hand over his mouth. Mint jerked in surprise, and he moved away from her, staring at her in surprise. "What?"

Penny narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "Now's not the best time for that." She looked over at Rudy, looking at him sympathetically, and then she turned her attention back to Mint. "That is a story for another time. I'll...tell you about it later, okay?"

Mint looked back at Rudy. Upon seeing the expression on the boy's face, he seemed to understand that this was a private matter. He sighed and nodded his head. "Okay."

Rudy recalled how he had encountered Rapsheeba's creator and had developed a crush on her. He still regretted the way he had acted for a while after that. And what he had heard her say.. It still sometimes stung him in the heart. He tried his best not to think about it.

Shifting his attention back to his friends, he said, "Shall we get going?"

"Yeah. The sooner the better." Penny said.

"I hope Rapsheeba will be able to help us." Mint said. His voice was tinged with concern. "And I hope that we will get answers soon."

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, we will."

Rudy wasn't sure how true those words would be. He didn't know if they would find anything out. There was always that chance that they'd never find out, and things would only get worse. He knew that real life was not always fair, and that at times, the bad guys do get away. It was a cold fact that he had to learn to accept, no matter how hard it was.

But he also knew that things could go right for them. There was still a chance that things could work out in the end, and that they would find out who was responsible. He wanted to remain hopeful for the best. They would not give up, not until they exhausted every possibility and they had broken their last leg, and even then, they'd struggle.

Rudy took out his magic chalk and quickly began to draw. Lines rapidly formed in the air, curving and bending around. Transluscent completely, that is, until he finished what he was drawing. In seconds, color flashed in, filling in the empty spaces. He took a few steps back, taking a moment to oversee what he had just drawn.

A large hovercraft, similiar to the one he used with his friends back when Mint was still working for Skrawl. This one was a bit larger to accompany the addition of Mint to the team. It was even more streamlined, shining of silver that glinted in the light of the Day Zone sun, and it was faster. He had a feeling they were going to need transportation for a while, and while Mint's creations would be helpful, he felt this was a better mode of transportation, since it would not be overexhausted from potential running around.

He and his friends approached the hovercraft. Rudy raised his hands up and gave a single clap. Just as he had designed it, the glass shield pulled back, allowing the children access inside. They all climbed in, taking their seats and buckling themselves in. Rudy clapped again and the hovercraft closed the glass shield, sealing them all inside.

Rudy turned the key, and the engines of the hovercraft roared to life. As he pulled on the lever that controlled the machine, he could feel themselves being lifted up into the air. They rose up higher and higher, and before they knew it, they were hovering above the ground about twenty feet. Rudy turned the lever, and the machine turned with it. Mint and Penny gripped their seats tightly as they wobbled a little bit. Soon the hovercraft straightened out and was pointed in the direction of their destination. Rapsheeba's New Place.

"Okay, let's get going." Rudy said. With that, he pressed a button and the hovercraft sped forward, taking him and his friends to Rapsheeba's New Place.

sss

Snap shivered as he laid on his bed. He pulled his blanket over him, covering his entire body. He couldn't stop trembling, the cold never ceasing to rip into him. He had his eyes closed, but he could not sleep. Not here, and not now. He didn't even know if he was still alone in his cell. The very idea of lifting up the blanket to see left him frozen in terror.

He hadn't even bothered to get anything to eat today. He was hungry. He could feel his stomach growling. But his fear outweighed his appetite. He dare not move from his spot. He dare not take a look around, and risk running into him.

He never thought that he would see the day when he would find someone he feared more than how he did with Mint those years ago, during his attacks on ChalkZone. But here, during his couple days trapped in this hell hole of a prison, he had been proven wrong.

Even without remembering specific details, even with his memory only partially working, Snap could still feel the terror welling up inside of him, the fear that was building up ever since he first came here. He had been in here for days, no doubt about it. Even if he did not remember the exact day and time he first arrived, the way the zoners acted and treated him told him he had been a resident for a little while.

He had quickly learned to fear practically every zoner here. They never let up on their treatment of him. They never gave him a break. They never showed him mercy. The wardens would force him to walk on his injured legs. The other zoner would sometimes knock him into the ground or take away his food or whatever. He was emotionally abused, with zoners left and right mocking him, taunting him, and accusing him. He tried to push the words out of his head, but their horrible stinginess persisted, and he could not run away from it.

The one zoner he learned to fear the most was Taima. He was the reason he did not want to get up right now. He was the reason he was too terrified to leave his bed.

Taima was his cell mate.

Taima took great pleasure in tormenting Snap. He would constantly berate Snap, find ways to hurt him, often mentally, dominate him, and just push him into the ground. Metaphorically speaking of course, but sometimes, he took in literally, something that made Snap shiver in fear.

Taima would sometimes start hurting him just to assert his dominance over him. If Snap did anything to fight back, the beating got worse. The terrified little zoner learned quickly to just take it, since things worked out a lot better that way. So long as he remained submissive, Taima didn't treat him quite as badly. It was still not picnic, and the zoner still left Snap feeling terrified, afraid to come out.

He wanted to get out of here. He wanted to break out and find his friends. He wanted to be with them. He wanted to help them find out what happened with him, and with that explosion. But that would entail breaking out of jail, and he knew that would be a very bad idea. As if the zoners didn't distrust him already, they would react even worse if they found out he broke out of jail.

He still clung onto the hope that, somehow, someone would realize he was innocent. Someone had to find out the truth about that explosion, and realize he was just as much a victim as everyone else. He did not rig that place to explode. He couldn't have. He'd never do something like that.

But that didn't stop him from sometimes doubting himself. With his memory of that day in shambles, he could not properly defend himself. Anything could have happened in that short time frame. He could have done something and not remember. Oh sure, he probably wouldn't have meant to do it, but what if he did cause an accident that took the lives of all those zoners? If that turned out to be the case, he knew he would not be able to forgive himself...

He tried to stay positive. Even in his terrified state, even as his heart raced against his chest, Snap tried to remain hopeful that something was going to change soon.

He heard footsteps. Through his blanket, he could see a shadow move across, then it froze. Snap knew who it was. He did not need the individual to speak for him to know who this was going to be. He pressed himself more firmly against the bed, staring out at the shadow, shivering.

"Well, Snap..." The familiar voice he didn't want to hear right now. His cell mate, Taima. "I see you missed out on lunch today. Quite a shame. I thought you would be hungry."

Snap did not attempt to speak. He recalled what happened this morning when he tried to talk to Taima. He had been punchedi n the jaw. Taima held a personal grudge against him, and boy did it show. Even in just the way Taima spoke to him, the tone that he used, it was clear that this zoner did not like him and felt as though he had wronged him.

Taima spoke up again, breaking Snap out of his thoughts. "Sooner or later, you will have to come out, Snap. You can't stay underneath there forever." After Snap remained quiet for a while, Taima's voice changed. It became a little darker, and there was a tinge more aggression to it. "Now, Snap... Why don't you say something? Speak. I give you permission. Reply to me, and stop hiding like a sniveling coward."

Snap dare not move, dare not speak. Despite what Taima said, he refused to move from his spot. He knew it would do little to help him, but hiding underneath the covers helped him feel safer for some reason. It was like he was shieled from the world. A safety zone of sorts. A small one that could easily be taken from him, but a safety zone nonetheless.

He knew that Taima blamed him for his sister's death. She had been brought up this morning. He didn't know how many times he had been told the story, since he would forget each day. But each time, he could have sworn that Taima got angrier and more aggressive as he told him. Taima was so vengeful in regards to what happened...and he put so much blame on Snap... It was such a terrifying moment for Snap to experience.

Snap didn't even try to argue with him. What was the point? He would always blame him for Galena's death. Snap could try all he wanted to, to defend himself, but nothing was going to work. Nothing would get through to this guy. Taima was too far gone in his anger and hatred towards him. Any attempt to deny his involvement, any attempt to try to tell him that he had amnesia, would result in him getting hurt.

Taima growled softly. "So you're just going to hide like the little coward you are. Of course. You miserable pile of shit..." Snap could hear the tall stick figure coming towards him. His heart pounded even faster against his chest. "You are so pathetic. You could at least look me in the eyes and talk to me. You did that with my sister before you killed her. Why can't you do the same with me?"

Snap was too terrified to speak. He could sense the growing aggression in the zoner's voice. He was too scared to move, too scared to look out from underneath the blanket. As the shadow grew larger, and the footsteps heavier, and more forced, Snap tugged on the blanket harder, hiding himself.

Suddenly, the blanket was being ripped away from him. Snap let out a cry of fear as he held onto the blanket, pulling on it, trying to keep himself hidden. But no matter how hard he held onto the blanket, it was no use, and in seconds, it was yanked away from him. He was pulled forward, nearly hitting his head against the leg of the bed. He attempted to pushed himself back, but when he turned his head up, his eyes were locked in contact with Taima's.

Snap felt his body freeze, ice filling his veins. He held his breath, and time felt like it stopped completely. He stared up at the zoner in horror, his mind racing with thoughts. He wanted to move. He wanted to get away. His muscles would not obey his commands, and he felt his body tremble harder.

Taima glared at him hatefully, moving his face closer to him. Snap moved away from him, pushing himself back on his hands. His burned legs stung as he was forced to use them as Taima crept closer. After a few second, Snap managed to flip himself onto his back. Instead of trying to get back onto his stomach and cowering, Snap remained like this, curling his limbs inward a bit.

Taima smiled at this show of submission. "That's more like it... Isn't this better...?"

Snap did not say a word. Even as Taima climbed into the bed with him, even as Taima straddled him, his hands on either side of him, Snap did not dare speak. He just stared up at Taima, shivering, unable to stop.

Taima chuckled at this. "You know, we could have a bit of...fun together..." He lowered his head towards Snap. The zoner could feel his hot breath against his face. "Yeah...I see no reason why we can't... pass the time, if you know what I mean..."

Snap's eyes widened in horror at this. He let out a soft whimper, turning his head to the side and closing his eyes. He could hear Taima let out a cold chuckle at this.

"Well then..." Taima started to say.

"Get off of him."

The two zoners, confused by this sudden interrupting, turned their heads towards the cell door. There, they could see a warden standing there, glaring at the two of them. Immediately, Taima got off of Snap, but shot him a glare as he moved back away. Snap looked at Taima in fear before turning his gaze to the warden. Despite his fear, he was curious to know what this warden wanted.

The warden glared softly in Snap's direction. He lifted up a hand, and with a wiggle of his finger, motioned for Snap to come closer. Though still shaken up by what happened, the fear of what could almost have happened, Snap obeyed the warden.

Standing on his feet was like standing on sharp glass. He winced and kept limping as he made his way over. The warden showed him no sympathy. Taima just smirked at him, obviously amused by what he percieved to be judgment. Snap ignored him, focusing instead on the warden. After long moments of painful progress, Snap soon reached the warden. He grabbed onto the cell door to provide some support for himself, and he leaned forward, nearly tripping over his own feet.

Snap looked up at the warden, and waited for him to reply. He dare not speak knowing full well of the consequences of that.

The warden stared at him for several moments, and then snarled at him softly. "Someone sent you a letter."

"R-Really..?" Snap said hesitantly. When the warden narrowed his eyes, Snap cringed and turned away, half-expecting to be hit. He dared to say, "Who..who is it from..?"

"Maybe from Skrawl congratulating you." Taima sneered.

The warden pulled out the letter. He held it up in the air, letting it get illuminated by the light. "It does not say who it's form." He turned it over, examining it. "But it is addressed to you, Snap. So here." He held out the letter. "Take it." He said coldly.

Snap took the letter, and as the warden walked away without another word, he took a moment to see if the warden had been telling the truth. Sure enough, the only thing written on the letter was his name, in big letters as well that covered almost the entirety of the envelope.

He wondered who could have sent him a letter. It wasn't one of his friends, that's for sure. They would have put their names on the envelope somewhere. But if it wasn't them..who could it be?

Snap felt a feeling of dread rise up in his stomach. Something told him that he should not open up this letter. But curiosity got the better of him. He took in a deep breath, steadying himself against the cage door, he gripped the letter's top. He tore it open with a single yank. He reached into the envelope and pulled out the letter. He opened it up, and began to read it in his head.

"Hello, Snap...

I do so apologize about how everything has been going for you. This is not what I hoped I would be doing. But you had left me with no choice. See, I know you are the one who destroyed my precious machine... Do you know how long it took me to make that, hmm...?

Well at least now I can rest soundly knowing that you are paying the price for that. Do not fear. It will be over soon...provided that you show that you learned your lesson. If I find that you did not, well... I just hope they will make it quick for you. I'd hate to see a friend suffer. I know you helped me so much in the past and I am happy for that. Really I am. I hope you do not feel bad about me.

Please take my words into account. Please do not make me prolong this anymore than it has to be. I want to back to being just your friend, and not your tormentor. Please...listen...

If you do not listen, well, at least listen to this message, and listen well. Heed my warning.

Tell me, Snap. How does it feel, knowing you have become the most hated zoner in ChalkZone? How does it feel knowing that zoners that once loved you now want you dead? It doesn't feel good, does it? Especially since you can't even remember...

Keep that in mind, and please make the right choice.

Love, Your Friend"

Snap took in a sharp gasp at this. He clutched the letter tightly, his body trembling. He stared at the letter, smacking his lips nervously as he looked at it up and down.

He couldn't believe it... This letter.. It was from the culprit... The culprit had sent him a letter, and was taunting him. The words, though written, rang in his head in a booming, haunting voice. He ignored anything Taima said, and just continued to stare at the letter. He tried to settle himself down, but his heart rate just increased in speed.

Feeling weak, he slumped down, keeping his back pressed against the cold bars. He crumbled up the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. He looked over at Taima. Despite his glare, for once, Snap did not feel fear towards him. The letter had shook him up pretty badly. Letting out a soft sigh, he tilted his head back and stared up towards the ceiling.

A lesson? What kind of lesson was this culprit talking about? What had he done to them to make them do something like this to him? And friend...? Was this guy really a friend of his, or was he trying to trick him? Although he was positive it was just a mind trick, Snap couldn't help but feel unnerved by the idea of a friend screwing with him like this.

He closed his eyes softly. Feeling emotion bearing down on him from all sides, and now combining with the sense of dread, Snap let out tears from his eyes, feeling them stroll down his face slowly.

He wondered how long he was going to have to endure this. He wondered if he was ever going to get out of here. He wondered if he stood a chance at all.

He hoped and prayed that his friends would save him.

sss

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rudy whispered softly. His eyes were wide in horror. "Doesn't that seem...risky?"

"Yeah. I'm with Rudy on this." Mint cringed back, gritting his teeth nervously. "This seems like a really bad idea..."

"Oh it's not so bad!" Rapsheeba waved her hand dismissively. "You just have to get to know him. Yeah he creeps out some of the other zoners, but if you spend some time with him, he's really not all that bad."

"Yeah, but... performing experimentations on animal zoners...?" Penny was shaken up by this. "I don't know if I can trust someone like that..."

Penny was shaken up by what Rapsheeba had told them. They certainly hadn't expected anything like this when they came over to her home. There were a number of things they expected. This wasn't one of them. She was glad that Zibble and Blotz weren't here to hear this. They would be quite shaken up by it.

When they arrived and told Rapsheeba they might have a way of proving Snap's innocense, the singer had been quite excited. Apparently she got some slack from some zoners who think she is covering up for Snap or something along those lines. Penny felt bad for her, but they didn't dwell on the subject for long. They quickly told her about trying to get Snap scanned in a new location, out of sight, and asked her if she knew of anyone who could do that.

Penny felt some sense of regret in asking this when Rapsheeba gave her answer. It was not an answer any of them had expected, and it left them all scared and disturbed. Despite Rapsheeba's reassurances, they could not let go of their fear.

Rapsheeba knew of some doctor who could help. Dr. Indigo was his name. Rapsheeba gave a short but rather informative description of him. He apparently was kind of a loon who did some kind of experimentation on zoners..well animal ones, not those from ChalkZone City. That did not help them feel any better. Penny especially was disturbed, since she loved animals and the idea of them being hurt for some pointless experimentation stung her heart.

But Rapsheeba insisted that he was trustworthy and would gladly do the scan for them. He had a hospital underground where they could take Snap. It wasn't a big deal to him.

But she and her friends still had some reservations against the idea.

"I'm sorry, Rapsheeba. But..do you know of anyone else?" Penny asked.

Rapsheeba shook her head. "No... But come on, you guys." She held her hands out in gesture. "It's not that bad. He doesn't torture any of the animals, and he always lets them go. He's crazy, not dangerous!"

"Are you sure he is not going to do something like..I dunno..." Mint made some quick little gestures with his hand. "Stick us with a needle or something?"

Rapsheeba widened her eyes at this. "My goodness, no!" The singer zoner looked at each of the human children. "Come on... You all said that you were willing to do what it took to help my main man, Snap, right?" The children nodded slowly. "Then come on. Take the risk! Dr. Indigo may be the best shot you all have!"

Penny hated to admit it, but Rapsheeba did have a good point there. There was a strong chance that Dr. Indigo would be their best chance at helping Snap. Animal experimentations aside, his personality probably would render it difficult for him to speak with others. And he might be the antisocial type, so he wouldn't parade around what he was doing. And Rapsheeba did say he kept to himself most of the time anyway...

"All right then. We'll do it." Rudy spoke up. His voice was still shaky, and she knew that he was still uncomfortable with the idea. "I don't like it.. But okay. Where can we meet this Dr. Indigo?"

Rapsheeba smiled. "Don't worry. It's not far from here."

Penny turned her head to Rudy. "Shall we go try to fetch Snap?"

"Yeah. We should see if we can get him while Rapsheeba makes arrangements with Dr. Indigo. We can't exactly run the scan without Snap around." Rudy turned his head towards Rapsheeba. "Can you call him up and see if he's available today?"

"No problem. I'll get right on it!" Rapsheeba said.

As Rapsheeba left the room, Rudy turned to his friends. "Mint and I will go to the jail and try to convince the warden to allow us to take Snap to get scanned. Penny, you stay here with Rapsheeba and help her negotiate with Dr. Indigo in case he gets...difficult."

Penny nodded her head. "Got it."

Rudy smiled at her, then looked over at Mint. He made a gesture with his head. "Come on, let's get going."

Penny watched as her friends left. It happened pretty quickly, and she didn't have much time to fully realize what she had to do. But she was not upset. She knew that there was little time left to help Snap. They could not afford to waste time. Their time had almost run out.

Penny turned her attention to Rapsheeba. She listened to her speak on the phone with Dr. Indigo. She couldn't tell how it was going, but she hoped that Rapsheeba wouldn't have too much trouble getting the doctor to agree to a scan. Snap's life may very well depend on it. Not just him, but the rest of ChalkZone City as well. Who knows how long it would be before that blasted culprit decided to try something else...?

Penny shook the thought of her head and tried to relax. Things would work out in the end. She knew they would. She just..couldn't stop believing. She couldn't allow herself to get too pessimistic. They'd find a way to help Snap...somehow.

After several minutes of her thinking to herself, she was startled at the sound of a phone being placed back on its hook. A small, quiet sound usually, but to her distracted mind, which wasn't expecting it, it sounded booming. She turned her head towards Rapsheeba, watching the zoner come towards her, a smile on her face.

"He agreed to do it." Rapsheeba said. Penny smiled at this. "He said to come at any time. So..whever you guys arrive at his place, he will make sure to do the scan right away."

Penny's smile broadened. Although she was uncomfortable still with Dr. Indigo, she was still grateful that he was willing to help them. They really needed to get this scan done, and the sooner, the better. Her smile faded, however, when she realized she did not know the exact location of this zoner.

Penny looked at Rapsheeba and asked, "Can you lead us there? We..kind of don't know where he is."

Rapsheeba nodded her head. "Of course! I'll be glad to!"

Penny smiled at this. She then turned her head and looked out the nearest window. She could see the grassy fields of Day Zone, and she immediately thought of Snap. Her heart twisted in her chest, from both fear and excitement. She hoped that Mint and Rudy were able to get Snap out of the jail so he could have the scan done. It may be their one key to proving his innocense.

sss

"I understand what you are trying to say, but..I'm not sure if I should grant this." The head warden said. His eyes were furrowed, some suspicion glowing from them. "How do I know you won't...?"

"Oh come on! We won't be gone long!" Mint cried. He placed his hands on the desk, staring at the zoner in the eyes. "Please! We just want to do a quick scan! What will it hurt you?"

The head warden, who identified himself as Okoth, narrowed his eyes. The zoner, a dragon-like being, leaned his head forward, putting his mouth close to Mint's head. The boy immediately shut his mouth and cringed back. "My reputation could be hurt. Do you have any idea how many prisoners could use this as an excuse to get out?" He leaned back, his tail twirling as his side. "Why should I grant Snap that privilege?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He did his best to control himself. It was hard for him to remain calm around his zoner. They had been trying to negotiate for about half an hour now, and he hadn't budged. He thought they were going to take Snap and run off with him. He had a feeling that Mint's actions earlier didn't help their cause any.

But he did not waste time being angry at Mint. He focused his eyes on the zoner before him. This dragon zoner had to be capable of reason and negotiation, right? There had to be some way that he would agree to allow them to have Snap just for an hour or so. They would bring him right back. They weren't going to break the law. They needed a trial first before they could prove Snap's innocense. All they wanted to do was gather some evidence to aid their friend when that time came. As of now, if he went there, with no way to defend himself... Rudy didn't want to think about it.

"Please, Okoth... Just this once..can't you make an exception...?" Rudy said softly. His voice was cracked in emotion. "We may have found a way..to not only prove Snap is innocent, but place an identity on who really killed those zoners. If there is a chance that you were wrong, a chance that the true culprit could be unmasked..wouldn't you want to take that?"

Okoth glared at Rudy, curling his scaly lip up. "How do I know you speak the truth? How do I know you won't..."

Mint opened his mouth to speak, but Rudy interrupted him. The boy took a step forward, gently pushing Mint aside so he could confront Okoth directly. "I'm the Great Creator. I am the great protector of ChalkZone. You have my word that we will bring Snap back after the scan is done. Please.."

Okoth growled softly, his head spines lowering down, showing great contempt for him. It was clear that he was not entirely believing of his words. He snorted, letting out a string of smoke from his nostrils. He emitted a low growl and turned his head to the side. Rudy was about to say something when the dragon raised his clawed paw up into the air.

"All right then... I am sick of talking with you and I know you won't stop until I agree." The dragon zoner growled softly. "You are persistant. I'll give you that." He turned his slit pupils in Rudy and Mint's direction. "I will allow you to take Snap to get another MRI done. But..." He placed his clawed paws on the table with some force. "..only if you bring a guard with you to ensure that Snap does not get away."

Rudy nodded his head. "You have our word."

"We accept the terms." Mint said.

Okoth narrowed his eyes. "Good..." He turned his head to a stick figure guard not far from him. "Go get Snap."

The guard saluted Okoth. "Yes, sir!"

Rudy and Mint remained silent as the guard went to fetch Snap. They looked at each other, both lost in their own thoughts. They weren't entirely sure how this was going to work out. Both were uncertain of how much they could trust this Dr. Indigo person. Neither of them know what to expect with whatever guard was assigned to Snap.

But they both knew this was their best shot at helping their friend. They would just have to go along with it and hope for the best.

sss

"Don't worry, you guys." Rapsheeba said. "It's just a little further!"

"That's what you said ten minutes ago! I'm exhausted!" Mint cried out. His mouth was opened wide, taking in quick breaths. He couldn't understand how Rapsheeba could walk this much without collapsing.

"Oh I might have been exaggerating. Sorry." Rapsheeba gave a nervous smile.

Mint narrowed his eyes at her. "So now you tell us..."

"Oh quick your complaining." The guard snarled at him. "Be glad this is even permitted at all..."

Mint glared at the zoner, but said nothing. There was no point in complaining with him. It would do him no good. He was not interested in getting tangled up with another zoner, especially with what happened the last time.. He shook the thoughts out of his head, not wanting to dwell on it for long.

He looked left and right as they headed down the tunnels. Everything looked the same here. He couldn't even see any kind of markings or signs on the walls. Rudy and Penny commented on how strange that was, and Snap was confused as well. The guard and Rapsheeba both remaiend quiet, although once in a while, Rapsheeba would give them words of encouragement and try to assure them it was closer than it really was.

He looked over at his zoner friend. Snap was being assisted by Rudy, who was holding onto his arm and allowing him to use him as support. It was a miracle that they were able to get Snap at all. He was glad that Okoth had caved in and allowedt hem to take Snap to get his brain scanned. They were going to feel so guilty when they brought him back. But..they didn't have much of a choice. That was part of the deal.

Dr. Indigo, as much as he creeped him out, maybe be their one chance at helping Snap. There might be other ways. They could probably always find something else. But how long would that take? They had a probable solution available now. He hoped that some results would turn up.

"Hold it!" Rapsheeba held her hand up into the air. The group behind her froze, looking at her curiously. She turned her head left and then right, moving rather slowly. She then looked over her shoulder. "He's coming."

The group remained quiet, watching as a shadow formed on the wall. It stretched up tall, at an odd angle. Mint and his friends stared at it nervously. They did not pay attention to how the guard was reacting, and kept their eyes glued on the shadow, following its movements.

Slowly, it shrank down as the figure got closer. They traced their eyes along the wall, following the shadow back down to its source. They moved their eyes along the wall, downwards, until they came upon an unfamiliar figure. A zoner they had never seen before. He was mostly in shadow and his details weren't clear. But as soon as he spoke, they all knew the identity of this zoner.

"Ah, Snap.. I was expecting you..." Dr. Indigo said, his body still obscured by the shadows. "Please...come in..."

sss

Sandra narrowed her eyes and let out a soft growl. She curled her lips back, baring her sharp teeth. Her hand formed into a fist. She tightened it, letting it tremble. She glared off in the direction in front of her, feeling anger eat away at her stomach. She did her best to control herself, but it was getting increasingly difficult to do so.

Snap...he wasn't listening to her warning. She had tried to negotiate with him. She had tried to be fair with him, and promised him that she would stop if he would just surrender and accept his punishment.

But instead, he was still trying to stop her. His friends, they were getting in the way again. They were now going to some more scans, likely more thorough ones than before. They were doing it away from the hospital as well, a fact that shocked her. Had it not been for the loose lips of a zoner who seemed like he thought he was just spreading a rumor, she never would have known about this.

She had no idea how much damage was done already. She didn't know how far along they had gotten, or if the MRI scan was doing. But she had to act fast. If they find out what she had done...

No.. She was so close. Everything was almost set. She would not allow this all to fall apart so easily. She had to stop this, before it was too late. She raised her hand up and prepared to take action. Her eyes closed, and a warm sensation began to center around her triangle. She stopped only when she heard the sound of a twig snapping, and the gasp of horror.

"Y-You...?" The voice that came was soft and quiet. Quizzical and curious. "Why are you here..?"

Sandra froze where she stood. No..oh no.. She couldn't have been followed. No one should know that she was here. She had never been noticed before. This..this couldn't be, no... This had to be some kind of mistake. She could not have just heard that voice.

Yet there was no escaping it. She knew the truth. For the first time, someone was catching her in the act. She could not hide from this. She could not lie. She had to defend herself and try to make this intruder see reason. She hoped that they would have some level of understanding, until Snap and the humans she was trying to deal with.

Slowly, she turned around to face the one confronting her. Her eyes widened in surprise at who it was. Then they narrowed, determination practically glowing from them. She hadn't met this zoner before, but the wacky design made her realize just who this had to be.

It was Doofus Rudy.


	25. Truth And Guilt

It's time to be a criminal! No time for hesitation. Time to be an animal!

-Crash, Papa Roach

sss

Snap was in absolute shock. He would have tripped over if it weren't for the fact that Rudy was holding him up. He found it hard to believe... A part of him wanted to believe that it was fake. He wanted to think that it was all some kind of lie. But the doctor's expression never changed.

His friends appeared shaken up as well. They didn't attempt to speak. Their mouths had dropped open, and they exchanged looks of horror. Rapsheeba had her hand to her mouth, staring at the doctor with a pleading expression silently begging it to all be untrue. Yet, no matter what, that expression never altered, never changed, on the doctor's face. He was absolutely serious.

Dr. Indigo let out a soft sigh. He gave them all a sympathetic look, an expression they weren't sure would have been possible from a guy who was supposed to be rather crazy. No, instead, he was rather subdued. He really did understand the severity of the situation. He had known what was going on, and was aware of the explosions in town, the death toll that had risen unexpectantly.

But then he also knew things that they did not. Things that Rudy, Penny, Snap, and Mint didn't know about, nor Rapsheeba. Then again, should they be surprised? They couldn't have known. The report had just come in. Yet it still left them all feeling a bit bitter at themselves. They could have done something to help prevent it. They could have stopped it.

"A-Are you sure? Are you positive?" Penny's voice was cracked in emotion. Her eyes appeared like they were fighting back tears. "Are they sure that..."

Dr. Indigo nodded his head slowly. "I am afraid so, my dear." The zoner turned his head so he could look at Penny with one eye as they all continued down the tunnel. "They found some footage of it happening. There is no doubt about it. It would also explain why her observatory or whatever it is called has not been used the past couple of days."

"Well, maybe she is just busy?" Rapsheeba suggested, a hopeful tone to her voice. "I mean...I don't know what the Doofi do in their spare time, but maybe Doofus Penny just...went on vacation?"

"Y-Yeah.. It could just be that..." Said Rudy.

"I'm afraid not." Dr. Indigo shook his head. "I know I can be a bit crazy at times, but for this moment, I am serious. They found footage of someone dragging away her corpse." He looked at the children again. He noted their expressions. "It was not a trick of the eye, either. Doofus Penny...is dead."

Those words rang through the tunnel, silencing everyone. The horrible feeling of dread and sadness hung strongly in the air. The group looked at each other sadly, unsure of how long they could deny it. The doctor could be lying...but what need would he have to do that? Plus, Doofus Penny was not a quiet, subtle zoner, and she usually appears in town at least once a day unless she was busy. What if she really was...?

Snap didn't want to believe it. Doofus Penny couldn't have been... But then again... She wasn't exactly one of the brightest zoners around. He did not mean that as an insult, but as a reason to worry for her. She might not realize what has been happening, and the culprit could have targeted her, took advantage of her naivity.

The thought of that caused his blood to reach its boiling point. Doofus Penny didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be targeted this way. Even if she were still alive, the very idea that she could have been hurt by this culprit... He could feel the back of his mind crawling with emotional pain. He couldn't fathom why anyone would want to hurt her.

Okay, so she was annoying. There were a number of zoners that had some annoying qualities to them. That didn't automatically make them targets. Doofus Penny meant to harm. And she wasn't completely stupid. She had some traits of a genius to her. Maybe she got away somehow. Maybe...

"Do you have proof?"

That was Mint's voice. Snap turned his head. He could barely see the boy behind him. He couldn't see his expression. From the tone of his voice, he guessed that Mint was probably frowning in determination.

Dr. Indigo stopped. Seconds later, so did everyone else. Everyone looked between Dr. Indigo and Mint, neither saying a word. Mint stared over at the doctor, his head lowered a tad. Dr. Indigo kept his back turned to the boy, his head raised up. There was a long, awkward silence as they remained like this. Dr. Indigo lowered his head, and looked back at the boy.

"Proof? You want proof?" Dr. Indigo asked.

Mint nodded his head affirmatively. "It could have been a misidentification. Or it could have been something else that just looked like murder."

Dr. Indigo narrowed his eyes slightly. "So you think it was all some kind of joke?"

Mint took a step back, wincing at the doctor's tone. "Well, no..." He raised his shoulders, lifting up his hands at his sides. "I just..."

Dr. Indigo raised up his hand, silencing him. Mint shut his mouth, and looked up at him with a saddened expression. Dr. Indigo glared at him for a few seconds. He exhaled slowly, his expression softening up. "Very well then. I can show it to you before we get Snap's brain scanned. We've plenty of time." He looked at each of them. "Would you like that? Maybe one of you could identify the culprit."

Snap's eyes widened at this and he looked at his friends. Was it possible? Could it be true? Was the culprit actually caught on camera? For the first time? The realization made adrenaline pump through their bodies, making them shake, making them want to jump for joy.

But they held back. It could still lead to disappointment. It may not contain the information they were looking for. It might even be a different zoner entirely. They couldn't get their hopes up. They could not allow themselves to get worked up for what might be another disappointment. They knew just how hurtful it was to get so hopeful for a change, only for it to be dashed. They calmed themselves down and turned to Dr. Indigo. They looked at each other, then back to the doctor, each one giving a stern nod.

Dr. Indigo sighed. "Very well then. Come along with me."

Dr. Indigo turned down a new hallway on the left. Snap and his friends followed close behind. Judging from the sign they just passed, this was the film editing hallway, likely where Dr. Indigo kept records for his experimentations. The thought sent shudders down their backs, but they were able to push it aside, knowing what might be awaiting them at the end.

They didn't take too long to reach a room labeled Storage. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and watched as Dr. Indigo entered the room. He gestured for them to come in.

The room was pretty small and crowded. There were cabinets upon cabinets of film. The black tape filled with moving pictures practically filled the room. There was hardly room for them to manuever around. They crashed into each other, brushing up against one another and grunting as they tried to move forward. Snap had to be careful especially, with his damaged legs and all.

Dr. Indigo stopped in front of what appeared to be a cluttered desk. He rummaged through it, pushing away papers and pens and moving a monitor across the table. He leaned forward, one leg raising up into the air. He gave a few grunts as his arms moved left and right. Soon, he pulled back, and he held up a small film reel in his hands.

He then moved towards a small screen located in the back corner of the room. Getting there was rather tough. Stuff was strewn all over the floor, mostly garbage and empty cases. Snap and his friends had a heck of time trying to move around the stuff.

"Do you ever clean in here?" Mint's comment echoed in their minds, and they all shared his sentiment. "It wouldn't hurt to pick things up you know."

Dr. Indigo ignored him as he placed the film in the projector. He made a few more adjustments before he gestured for them to come closer. "It'll be ready in a few minutes. Just gotta let the machine get warmed up."

"And this is going to show us, for sure, what happened?" Rudy asked.

"Are you sure this is the film that shows..." Penny stared to say.

Dr. Indigo raised his hand up again. "Oh sure! I guarantee it..." His tone got a little scary at that moment, making the children cringe back. Rapsheeba narrowed her eyes and folded her arms. Dr. Indigo noticed this and cleared his throat. "Well, anyway..." He turned his attention back ot the projector screen. "In a few minutes, I'll fire this baby up and you'll see that I have been telling the truth."

Snap stared at the screen, eagerly waiting to see what it had to offer. He did not like the idea of watching a zoner die, friend or not. He didn't like the idea of seeing a corpse, either. However, he still felt some tinge of excitement, because they might have caugh the culprit on tape. If they did, then they were a step closer to stopping them. They could place a positive identity, have them arrested, and have his name cleared.

He hoped that something could come out of this. He had no idea what else the culprit might do. The thought of the possibilities terrified him. If this film could show who had done it, they might finally have a name to the culprit. Will it be one of the suspects, or someone they did not know? In the end, they all knew that they might, finally, be close to solving this mystery.

But it all hinged on what this film was going to show them. He and his friends waited patiently, hoping and praying that the film would show them something worthwhile.

sss

Doofus Rudy kept his feet firmly planted on the ground, staring out ahead at the blue dragon zoner. He did his best to look brave. After all, the kid he was based on was brave, so shouldn't he be as well? Yet he couldn't stop himself from shaking, his mind reeling, trying to figure out what he should do. He was torn between running away and directly confronting her.

He didn't know what to expect today. He never did. He wasn't a planner. He didn't think that far ahead into the future. About the only thing he aspired to do was try to be more like that kid, Rudy, whom he was based off of. He may not be gifted with the boy's intelligence, but he still wanted to try. He had an innate desire to try to help others.

And stopping this dragon zoner would be the biggest way he could help them now.

He tried to call upon Rudy's courage as he stood there, adopting a somewhat hostile stance. Not a position he normally found himself in, but he had never met someone like Sandra before. His eyes locked onto hers, glaring at her as the awkward seconds passed by.

Sandra's ears twitched a little. She stared at him with a blank expression. Although she did not threaten him yet, he still felt quite unnerved by her presence. There was something in the way she moved, the way she looked at him, that screamed danger. When she turned around completely, her cape moving slightly, the light shining off the metal plate on her chest, Doofus Rudy took a step back. But he did not run. He held his ground, his glare never leaving her.

Sandra slowly smiled, tilting her head slightly to one side. "...what makes you think I did anything?"

Doofus Rudy growled softly at this. He took a step forward and pointed accusingly at her. "You were going to do something to them, weren't you?! I saw the look in your eyes! You're...you're a bad guy! A villain!" Sandra looked shocked by this accusation, placing a hand against her chest. "Why else would you be here? Why else would you look so angry that Snap was getting an MRI done here?"

Sandra took a small step back. "You know about that?" She folded her arms against her chest. "Heh... And here I thought you were too stupid to grasp the basic concept..."

Doofus Rudy narrowed his eyes. "I will not lie. I am...not smart. I don't know a lot of things. I do annoy the other zoners around here. I can't help it." He raised his hands up in gesture. "I try not to be annoying. I just want to help people. I inherited that much from the real Rudy."

Sandra chuckled at this. "Riveting speech, dear boy." She pointed a feather finger at him. "But you still don't have any evidence to suggest I did anything!"

"Why were you so angry at the idea of Snap getting an MRI? I saw the look on your face when you saw him being taken into that underground hospital. I thought you would have been happy." Doofus Rudy took a step forward. "Perhaps you are hiding something?"

Sandra stared at this. She did not say a word for several seconds. Then she slowly folded her arms, grinning at Doofus Rudy. "I am hiding nothing. Why should I have to hide something?" She tilted her head further to one side, to the point where only one of her red eyes could see him. "Why do you think I could be hiding something? Where is your proof, little one? Tell me...where it is...?"

Doofus Rudy growled at this. He took a step back. He realized that Sandra had a point. He tried to think of something, but he couldn't think of anything. He was not analytical like his Real World counterpart. Already, his head was aching, stress spreading throughout his body as he tried, in vain, to think of a way to expose Sandra.

He just...couldn't help it. She just didn't...look right. Something was wrong with her. He knew this to be true. She was dangerous. Something was really wrong with her. He couldn't just stand here and do nothing. He had to take action. He had to prove, somehow, what Sandra was doing. And he would not give up until he had succeeded.

That was one advantage of his...state. He was so single-mindedly focused on a task, and he would remain that way until he got some kind of success. He would not be swayed from his goal. He would not allow Sandra to intimidate him and drive him away. What would Doofus Penny think of him if he ran off like a coward?

Doofus Penny... The thought of her name made him choke up inside. He felt tears form in his eyes, and he tried his best to fight them back. They were too powerful for him, and they cascaded down his face like a waterfall. Sandra cocked an eyebrow at this, but he paid no attention.

He knew full well what had happened to Doofus Penny. He had heard the news earlier today. The fresh memory stung him, like a knife going through his heart. He shivered as he tried to control the intense feeling of loss and sorrow swelling up inside of him. He had lost his closest friends in ChalkZone. No, they weren't just friends. They were closer than that. And she was ripped away from him.

And there in front of him...her killer. The realization of this caused his blood to heat up. He wished he could use the magic chalk to draw. He had all kinds of things he could do to her if he could. His vision darkened, and soon all he could see was Sandra, just floating there in space. And she still had the gall to tell him she wasn't involved... He may not have seen the video, he may not have any proof of her actions, but with the way she looked at Snap and the others as they entered this underground hospital, that was enough for him to get suspicious of her.

It all made sense. Didn't he overhear one of the zoners in town mention how there were strange occurences with electronical stuff sometime ago? If he remembered right, it corresponded to when Sandra first came into ChalkZone. He would remember; he and Doofus Penny met her when Snap was helping her out.

Maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Maybe he was thinking about this all wrong. Maybe he was just a lunatic. But until he was proven wrong, he was going to remain convinced that Sandra was the culprit all along.

Sandra narrowed her eyes, noticing that his determined expression did not falter. She shook her head slowly, placing a hand against her snout. She looked rather perplexed. He guessed it was because she never thought that someone like him could have figured things out. "You really are something. You waltz in here, acting so sure of yourself, thinking that I am going to do something horrible to Snap..." She held her hands out at her sides. "And yet you show no proof!" She jabbed a finger in his direction. "You're just paranoid! Why don't you go home and rest?"

Doofus Rudy shook his head, glaring defiantly at her. He puffed up his chest, attempting to look brave. "Then why did you look pissed when you saw Snap getting help? Why do you look so afraid? What do you think they are going to find, if you have nothing to hide?"

Sandra took a step forward. Her hands shook in fists at her sides. She clearly didn't like being accused like this, but Doofus Rudy did not care. He was certain she was involved somehow. Maybe if he kept this up, he could cause her to make a mistake, and she would expose herself.

Sandra sighed, her face softening up. She stopped her advancement towards Doofus Rudy. She smiled at him, leaning back. Her expression became more bemused than anything. This did little to make Doofus Rudy change his mind about her. "How sweet... You are worried for Snap, aren't you? Maybe that's why you are a little...jumpy." She looked towards the tunnel. She then turned back to him. "I guarantee you, I care about Snap just as much as you do. I did not come here to hurt him."

"Then what did you come here or?" Doofus Rudy asked her, folding his arms. When Sandra didn't answer right away, he pressed on, "I don't think this should be a difficult question to answer. Even I could..." He gestured to himself. "And that's saying something."

"Nice insult to yourself." Sandra chuckled.

Doofus Rudy ignored that statement. "Just please...tell me what you intend to do here." He took a small step forward. "It can't be that hard to explain it to me. If you didn't come here to hurt anybody, then what do you have to hide?"

Sandra glared at him softly, but she did not answer. She just stared at him. They kept their eyes locked on one another, neither daring to move. It was the most intense staring contest Doofus Rudy had ever been in, and it was getting rather uncomfortable. It felt as though Sandra's crimson eyes were staring straight through his soul. He wanted to look away, but a part of him kept him froze in place. He needed to show Sandra that he was not going to back down from this. Not until she provided him with proof of what she is doing, proof that it isn't what he thought it was.

The longer Sandra didn't do anything, the more Doofus Rudy became convinced that she was involved. Sure she may say that she was peeved with him and wasn't able to concentrate on anything due to this, but that did little to deter him. He was convinced that, if she really wasn't involved, she would have said something to convince him.

She seemed a bit too guarded. He found it hard to believe that she would act this way if she really didn't do anything wrong. If she was innocent, if she wasn't here to cause any trouble, then she would have told him. She wouldn't act so defensive.

Doofus Rudy eventually got tired of the silence and spoke, "If you really didn't do anything, then why are you refusing to tell me anything? What's to stop me from thinking that you are up to no good?"

Sandra rolled her eyes. "Sure, the little idiot knows all about situations like this. You are so smart, aren't you?" The sarcasm in her voice echoed in the air as she spoke. "I can tell you are just so full of information!"

Doofus Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so defensive? Why are you acting this way?"

Sandra's body shivered. Her eyes narrowed further. She raised her tail up in the air. "Because I did not kill Doofus Penny!" She slammed her tail into the ground, as if to emphasize her point. But she had already exposed herself, causing a bitter smile to come onto Doofus Rudy's face. Sandra snarled, "Why are you smiling, you runt?"

Doofus Rudy folded his arms against his chest, smirking at her. "I did not say anything about Doofus Penny."

Sandra's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. All signs of anger fell from her face in that moment. She took a step back, clenching her teeth as she stared at Doofus Rudy. She did not say a word, utterly speechless.

Doofus Rudy smiled at this. He puffed up his chest again, feeling proud of himself. He had managed to make Sandra slip up. She had spilled the beans. Now she knew there was no way she could back out of this now. She could not longer deny it. Now all he had to do was wait, and the truth would flow forward.

Sandra remained where she was, frozen in place. For several seconds, her expression remained that of shock and disbelief. She tried to say something a few times, perhaps attempting to defend herself. But nothing would come out. She had nothing to defend herself with. Soon, as she realized that she couldn't justify what she said, she took a step back, her eyes widening further. She looked left and right frantically, as if trying to make sure that no one else was seeing this.

This further cemented her guilt in his mind. If she wasn't the culprit, why would she care if anyone else saw this display? She was hiding something, and it would seem he had hit the nail on the head.

Sandra stared at him in the eyes, red orbs locking onto green. After a few seconds, they narrowed, and some kind of unidentified emotion radiated from them. Doofus Rudy felt his heart clench, realizing that he was probably in danger. Yet his desire to help ChalkZone made him stay, even as Sandra adopted a more aggressive stance, her tail raising straight up into the air.

"Congratulations... You've figured it out. What a brilliant deduction..." Sandra's voice was cold. "I suppose you want a medal now?"

"Aha!" Doofus Rudy declared, his voice having a victorious tone to it. "I knew you were up to no good! Tell me, fiend. What do you plan on doing?"

Sandra chortled at this. She moved closer towards him. She moved slowly, taking her time. Doofus Rudy remained where he was, glaring at her. "It is quite simple, really. I would think that you would have figured it out on your own, if you're so smart." Doofus Rudy narrowed his green eyes at this. "Snap ruined my machine...and I am just repaying the favor."

Doofus Rudy widened his eyes at this. "How..how could you do that?! Snap helped you! Why would you hurt your helper?"

Sandra lowered her head at this, her ears drooping. "I know that it is..extreme. It is not like I enjoy this." She lifted up her head, staring directly at him. "But it is too late for that. I had already made a promise to make the one who ruined my machine regret their actions. So even after finding out it was Snap, I knew I had no choice but to keep my promise. I..."

"That's chalkdust and you know it!" Doofus Rudy yelled, his voice filled with more anger than he ever thought he could muster. Sandra froze where she was, her eyes bulging at his sudden outburst. "You had a choice all along! You didn't have to do any of this! You could have left him alone, but instead you chose to hurt him!"

Sandra lowered her ears, flattening them like an angered dog. She growled, "Of course someone like you couldn't understand..." She took a step forward. She hunched her back, her neck bending in response. "You were not created with the complex intelligence of someone like me. Your pitiful brain couldn't began to comprehend such matters."

"Pitiful, am I..?" Doofus Rudy grinned at this. "At least I'm not the one who thinks that a promise cannot be broken for a good cause."

"Why you little...!" Sandra breathed, her pupils shrinking. She rushed towards him, doing a mock charge until she stopped about a foot in front of him. She bent her head downwards and put it close to Doofus Rudy's. She was attempting to use her height advantage to intimidate him, but still he did not back down. "Are you trying to say that I'm pitiful?"

"Hey, you said it, not me." Doofus Rudy said with a smirk.

Sandra looked like she was about ready to explode. Her face tinted a red color. Her pupils shrank into dots. Her teeth were bared, showing off how sharp they were. Doofus Rudy felt his heart skip a beat and he took a step back. He did not run away, however. He could not. Not now, not ever. No matter how angry Sandra got, he was not going to allow her to make him surrender.

Then, without warning, just as suddenly as she got angry, she relaxed. Her smile returned, looking eerily peaceful. She straightened herself up and moved a few steps away, giving him some breathing room. Doofus Rudy looked at her in confusion. He wondered what she could be up to.

"Well I must admit, you are smarter than I thought you were. I'll give you that much." Sandra said. "I do not wish to cause harm to Snap. I do like him, I assure you. You can relax now. Calm down and enjoy your life. You do not need to worry for Snap. He will be fine, I promise. I don't plan on hurting him forever." She leaned back a bit further. "As soon as I am certain he learned his lesson, I will set him free, and everything will go back to the way it was." She folded her arms. "So go on. Run along and play..." She made a few dismissive gestures with her hand. "..whatever it is you do."

Doofus Rudy stared at her in shock. Was she serious? Did she really think that he could just dismiss something like this? Did she think that everything would be hunky dory after all of this was over, if it went the way she thought it would? His heart twisted in his chest, feeling his body begin to shake.

How could she be so blind? How could she be so stupid? He was considered pretty stupid among other zoners, and even he knew that Sandra's logic here was clearly broken. Doofus Rudy understood enough of the situation to know that Snap was suffering, and he knew now it was because of this zoner standing before him. She couldn't expect everything to be just fine after all of this... Not with what she had done.

"No! You're wrong! Things won't go back to normal! You don't understand the consequences of what you just did! Do you really think Snap would want to remain friends with a bad guy like you?!"

Sandra narrowed her eyes at this. "If Snap truly cared, he would see that I had no choice. He would understand."

"And if you had any common sense, you'd know that Snap would turn his back on you the moment he realizes what you were doing!" Doofus Rudy shouted at her, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction.

"Well then..." Sandra growled, clearly fighting back rising anger. "It's a good thing that he won't find out then... I can just not tell him, and say it was someone else. Someone who was..killed in an accident or something. That way, he'll never know the truth."

Doofus Rudy smirked at this. "What makes you think he won't find out?"

Sandra tilted her head, raising one ear up slightly. "What makes you believe that he will know about this?"

"I'll tell him!" Doofus Rudy declared, pressing his thumb against his chest. He realized his mistake too late.

Sandra let out a cold chuckle, throwing her head back. Doofus Rudy winced at this, taking a step back. After a few seconds, Sandra moved her head back forward, staring at him intently. There was a wild look in her eyes, her teeth flashing in a nasty grin. "Oh you won't be able to tell Snap anything. You see, I cannot allow him to find out. It would...ruin everything..."

Doofus Rudy's mind raced. He knew he had to get out of here. He couldn't stay here, not any longer. But he found it hard to move. His legs would not obey his command. His feet were practically glued to the ground. He looked left and right, hoping that someone was nearby to help him. But to his horror, there was no one. He turned his attention back to Sandra.

Though that wild look was gone from her eyes, she still looked rather intimidating. Her teeth were still bared, her eyes still narrowed. She was raising a fist into the air, and he realized she was going to attack. He had to get out and fast. His frantic brain sent signal after signal, trying to get his rigid legs to move. Slowly, but surely, they began to move. He turned around and started to run away.

Doofus Rudy didn't dare look back. He didn't dare divert his gaze away, terrified that he might slow himself down somehow. He had to get away from Sandra, and find someone who can help. He had to tell the other zoners about Sandra's treachery, that she, not Snap, was the one who had killed those zoners, and how she had framed the poor blue guy.

Without warning, a sudden, intense pain gripped him in his left arm. He let out a scream as he felt his arm begin to bulge. The pain...oh gawd the pain... He started to cry, tears streaming down his face. He clutched his arm to himself. It felt as though his muscles were being ripped apart from the inside out. He seethed, grinding his teeth together.

Then, to his horror, he could feel something warm and wet forming on his arm. He dared to open his eyes and he gasped in horror at what he saw. His arm had bulged up so much that some of the skin was starting to pull and tear. He could feel...something...under his arm. Hard and tender, with the slightest pressure causing him to scream in agony. Blood dribbled down his hand like a leaky faucet.

He collapsed to the ground, his swirling mind trying to cope with the immense pain. What happened to him? Why was this happening to his arm? He hadn't been hit by anything. The only one around was...

Through his blurred version, he could see Sandra approaching him slowly. It was hard to tell, but it looked as though she was smirking at him.

"Do you like it? I am quite proud of this power of mine." Sandra's triangular mark was glowing, her raised hand forming into a fist. "Healing can be quite a useful, and helpful, ability. But you know..when used in just the right way, it can be..quite the potent weapon..." She frowned, tilting her head. "Wouldn't you agree?"

As she made a gesture with her hand, Doofus Rudy threw his head back and screamed. He felt his arm rip open, a long gash spreading from his wrist towards his elbow. The interior of his arm was partially exposed, allowing him to see some kind of strange..growths inside. He stared over at Sandra in horror, in too much pain to try to speak.

"Healing requires the use of cell division. Things like cancer and tumors..they are caused by healthy cells gone awry...and the more a cell divides, the more likely things will screw up. I simply...give that a helping hand..." Sandra said. "I can completely reverse it, too, if I really wanted to. But for now... enjoy the pain. For your interruption, you deserve to go out in a way that..no one will forget... And besides..." She narrowed her eyes. "..no witnesses allowed..."

Doofus Rudy's eyes widened in horror at this. His mind raced, his breathing increasing rapidly. He swallowed nervously, his body wracked in horrific pain. He looked left and right, trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this. It couldn't end like this. No...

As he struggled on the ground, as he fought against the increasing pain, his growing weakness from blood loss, he could feel something fall out of his pocket. With one pain-filled eye, he looked down and he could see that it was the piece of chalk that he tended to carry around with him. He stared at it long and hard, his mind racing, desperation grabbing a hold of him. He looked back at Sandra, and then at the chalk.

Gripping it tightly, Doofus Rudy shifted himself around. He ignored the immense pain he was in as he pulled his arm back, the muscles in his undamaged arm tightening up. He threw it as hard as he could.

"What are... Aaaaahhhhh!" Sandra screamed as the chalk hit her in the left eye. She tumbled backwards, putting her hand over her eye. She seethed, her body shuddering in pain.

Doofus Rudy felt some relief come to him as Sandra's hold on him was broken. His arm still radiated in agony, but he could now make his attempt to escape. Ignoring the terrible pain in his arm, he got up to his feet. He stared over at Sandra, who was still holding her eye. He then looked around, trying to find an escape route. He soon heard a hiss, and he looked back at where Sandra was.

The blue dragon glared at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously and teeth bared. Her left eye was in tact, but appeared a tad swollen from the chalk attack. She raised her body up, taking on a dinosaur-like posture. She began to stalk towards him, her intent rather clear.

"You fool... You are going to regret that..."

She broke off into a chase. Doofus Rudy let out a scream. He turned and ran as fast as he could. He looked left and right, hoping that someone would spot him in time. He looked behind him, realizing in horror that the dragon was giving chase. He pushed himself to go faster. The two of them disappeared over the grassy plains of ChalkZone, heading straight for the city.

sss

Rudy, Penny, and Mint wait patiently as the MRI scan was being performed. They all hoped that, if the culprit was involved with messing with the results, they would see something different this time, since they were underground. With the general secrecy of this test, along with the shield of the chalky earth above them, blocking out the signal from the machine, they were confident that things would turn out differently this time.

But they were also still worried that things were going to still go wrong. They had grown so accustomed to things going horribly, they were expecting something to happen this time. Even though the doctor never came out and said anything, even though there was nothing happening to indicate something had gone wrong, they were still nervous.

Rapsheeba had done her best to cheer them up. She had assured them that Dr. Indigo knew what he was doing and could get fast MRI results. She assured them that things would be better this time.

But despite her words, the children couldn't help but feel terrified. They still had no idea who the culprit was, or if the culprit had even found out about this scan. The video of Doofus Penny, as horrific as it was, did not show them a clear picture of the culprit, much to their dismay. They were still in the dark, and they could feel their hearts tighten with the idea of the culprit being somewhere nearby, just ready to screw things over.

Or maybe they would get revenge another way. The machine, the messing with zoners' minds... They hadn't heard much of that lately, though they had been so focused on helping Snap that they may have overlooked it. Could the zoners' actions lately have been at least somewhat influenced by this machine? If that were the case, what would the culprit do if they decided to use it again? The thought sent shudders down their spines.

Rudy knew that, if the culprit decided to, they could do a lot of damage with that machine if they used it to mess with the zoners' minds. He knew that they would need to tread lightly until they could destroy it, and stop the culprit for good.

He still couldn't believe that those cops had insisted that nothing had been going on until recently. He remembered what the zoners had said. There had been recurring incidents of electrical issues, mostly in the hospital. Security systems and machines had malfunctioned. This was known across ChalkZone City. Yet..no one told them. Not the cops, not the other zoners. Why?

A sudden cold chill rushed up his spin when he realized something. Could it had been the machine the whole time? Could it be the reason why the cops had lied to them, why the zoners never told them until the incident had been witnessed by them?

It was all making sense now. The culprit must have used the machine to mask their actions. They did something to the zoners' minds to make them forget, or not notice, or behave differently. They did not want to get caught. If they were a serial killer, claiming lives left and right, then they must have realized the trail would eventually lead to them. So they decided to use the machine to prevent the zoners from taking action.

The thought of the zoners being messed with like that heated the pit of Rudy's stomach. It also frightened him. It made him wonder just what else this culprit was doing. What else had they been hiding from ChalkZone City..?

"Rudy...?" Penny's voice caught his attention. "What's wrong?"

Rudy looked over at her. He bit his lip. He couldn't hide anything from her. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to her, or to Mint, who was also looking at him curiously. Yet..he knew he had to try. Letting out a sigh, he said, "I'm just...thinking about that culprit."

"What about him..or her?" Mint said. He held out his hand. "As soon as we are able to prove Snap's innocense..."

"We don't know what else this culprit has been up to. We have ideas...but no proof." Rudy said. He lowered his head. He didn't want to feel pessimistic, but with all that's happened, there was still that sense of uncertainty. He turned back to his friends and said, "What if the culprit has been messing with the police and the other zoners this whole time?"

At this, his friends widened their eyes.

"That is a possibility." Said Mint.

"But that won't be a problem once we expose the culprit." Penny repiled. "We are already certain that Sandra is the one behind this. And we have two other suspects we can check out."

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah. Don't worry, Rudy. We'll figure things out." He smiled the best he could.

Rudy smiled at this. He knew his friends were right. They would find a way to stop the culprit. They were underground, where the signal could not reach them. The equipment here could not be messed with. And if there was any suspicious around here, someone would have spotted them. There was no way the culprit could mess with the machines here without their own.

Although he was still nervous about what could happen, Rudy did start to feel a bit more confident. He was now more certain than ever that they would find out, for certain, what has been going on with their friend. And from there, they would begin the steps in capturing the culprit and bringing them to justice.

Sooner or later, the culprit would pay for their crimes. He would see to that.

"I hate to interrupt you guys..." The children looked at Rapsheeba. She was leaning forward, her eyes facing something in a direction they were not looking in. "But Dr. Indigo is coming back." She used her finger to point.

The three children turned their heads. Sure enough, Dr. Indigo was coming back towards them. The zoner, which Rudy finally figured out was a tasmanian devil crossed with a zebra, came towards them, his tail swishing from side to side. He had an unreadable expression on his face. The kids weren't sure if this was good news or bad news, considering who this was.

Dr. Indigo stopped in front of them. Beside him, the guard from before, as well as Snap, approached from the side. The guard was glaring down at Snap, looking eager to have him locked away. Snap, however, didn't seem afraid. He looked more hopeful than anything. Rudy hoped that this would not be dashed by a cruel reality.

Dr. Indigo said, "The results will be here in two days." He gave them a small smile. "I will have the results in by then."

Rudy smiled at the zoner. "Thank you."

"You know, you're not as crazy as we thought you would be." Mint said.

Dr. Indigo chuckled at this. "I can be well behaved when I want to be. After what you have been through, I don't think I should let my true self be exposed. You don't need anything else crazy added to your life right now, do you?"

"Come on, you..." The guard growled as he pushed against Snap's back. "It's time to head back to the jail, where you belong."

"All right, I'm moving." Snap winced as he hobbled forward the best he could. Rudy could see now he was using a cane. One of the doctors must have given it to him to help him walk better. "No need to get so pushy." The guard growled, but said nothing.

Rudy and his friends glared at the guard as he began to take Snap away. They wanted to say something. They wanted to do something. But all they could do was bid their friend farewell. A deal was a deal and Snap had to be taken back to jail. And they couldn't talk back to the guard or they might risk bestowing their friend a worse fate.

After they disappeared, and Rapsheeba went with Dr. Indigo to talk to him about something, perhaps arrangements on how he was going to deliver the news, the three friends looked at each other.

"Two days..that's going to seem like a long time." Mint said. He looked up towards the ceiling. "I wonder what we can do in the meantime."

"Same thing as we always did." Penny said. "Look for clues. Try to understand what could have happened. And we hope."

"Yes." Rudy nodded his head. "We must keep doing that." He looked down the hallway where Snap disappeared, and then turned his head to where Dr. Indigo and Rapsheeba went down. "We must keep hoping."

sss

The next two days went by at a snail's pace. The three children, despite trying to be patient, couldn't help but feel as though the days dragged on for years. They kept on doing what they could, finding more clues and whatever else they could. They were unable to find anything else useful, and dealing with some of the zoners had begun to be quite stressful.

They eagerly awaited the day that the results would come in. Everything hinged on this. They all hoped and prayed that something would show up. Only then could they begin to make things better. They could use the information to show the zoners that Snap really was innocent after all. They could use it to get Snap out of jail, and back with them. They couldn't wait to be with him again. They all missed him so much, and the thought of him being in that horrible jail...

But soon the day had arrived. The day that they would finally get the results. They could feel the adrenaline and anxiety rush through their bodies. They could feel their stomachs burn with excitement. This was it. This was the moment they all had been waiting for. It was the day that Snap's MRI results had finally come in.

Afterschool couldn't come any sooner for the trio. They had waited impatiently for school to end. Each subject the teacher taught them felt like it lasted for hours. The bus seemed to drive much slower than usual, especially taking them back home. Inside their heads, they were screaming for the bus to move faster. The sooner they got home, the sooner they could all get into ChalkZone.

Before they knew it, they were back in ChalkZone. They all met up with each other very quickly. They all ran as fast as they could to meeting spot. They were pretty worn out when they got there, but Rudy was still able to fly the hovercraft that he had left in that spot.

But even with the hovercraft at top speed, it still felt like it took forever to get to Rapsheeba's New Place. They knew that she would have the results from the doctor. She said that Dr. Indigo would send them to her via her fax machine. They all wanted to be there right away. They were all excited to hear what the results were. But they knew that, even at the hovercraft's top speed, it would still take them at least several minutes to reach Rapsheeba's home.

When they got there, they immediately jumped from the hovercraft. They rushed towards the house as fast as they could. They didn't bother knocking. Too anxious to hear the news, they barged through the door, startling Rapsheeba.

"You guys! You scared me!" Rapsheeba cried, placing a hand against her chest. The pot she held in her hand suggested that she was about to cook. "I didn't expect you all to just rush in like this."

Penny panted heavily. She felt a tinge of guilt. She realized that she and her friends could have behaved better than this. They could have calmed down and come in more politely. She felt bad and lowered her head. "Sorry, Rapsheeba. We were just so..."

"We didn't mean to, we swear." Rudy said, a stammer to his voice.

"We just..." Mint started to say.

Rapsheeba chuckled. "Oh don't worry you guys! I understand!" She placed the pot down. She turned to them and gestured for them to follow her. "Come on, I have the sheets in the living room. I'll tell you what the results said."

Penny resisted the urge to ask right away. They were all going to find out soon enough. Although her heart beat quickly in anticipation of the results, she managed to keep herself from trying to force an answer out of Rapsheeba. She turned her head to her friends for a moment, noting their expressions.

They all knew this was it. These were the results they had been waiting for days for. The results that could change things around for them. Their hearts beat so loudly, they practically echoed in the room. Hopefully, things would turn out better this time.

Rapsheeba sat down on the long couch. She patted on it, encouraging the three human children to sit down next to her. They did so without a second prompt. She then reached behind her, where a small table was. She pulled out a sheet. They knew right away it was the doctor's papers.

"According to Dr. Indigo's findings, from the MRI scan they did on Snap's brain..."

Penny, along with Rudy and Mint, leaned forward. Their hearts clenched tightly in anticipation. They stared intently at Rapsheeba, waiting for her to finish the sentence. It felt like hours passed before Rapsheeba finished her sentence.

"...they found something."


	26. Secret Passage

I'm searching for answers not questioned before. The curse of awareness, there's no peace of mind.

-A Dangerous Mind, Within Temptation

sss

"They...they found something? They really found something..?" Although Penny had heard the words with her own head, a part of her had trouble fully comprehending them.

Rapsheeba nodded her head. She gave the three kids a broad smile. "That's exactly what they told me."

Penny couldn't believe it. Neither could her friends. They all looked at each other. Overwhelming shock enveloped them, making them tremble and shake. It was so hard for them to fully comprehend. On some level, they wondered if they were merely dreaming. What if all of this was just a sick dream, and they'd wake up, realizing they still hadn't found evidence for Snap's innocense?

But the longer they remained like this, the more that things all around them began to settle down, the more Penny realized...this was no dream. This was real. Something, at long last, had been found. For the first time in weeks, they had proof that something had been wrong with Snap all along. Proof that he was not a monster trying to lie to everyone.

The feeling of triumph was overwhelming. They couldn't stop their bodies from shaking. They couldn't stop the tears of joy from flowing down their faces. They weren't able to control themselves for long, and after a few seconds, they all let out a scream of joy and hugged each other.

Finally, after all this time, they could finally prove that Snap had nothing to do with the attacks. Anyone who doubted him will now be silenced in light of this evidence. No longer could they say that Snap was tricking them all. All they needed to do was show them the results, and they will be silenced.

But knowing that something was really wrong with him was only part of the battle. Penny realized that if they were to properly get to the bottom of this, they would need to know exactly what the results had said.

Pulling away from her friends, Penny look at Rapsheeba and said, "What did they find out was wrong?"

Rapsheeba's smile faded at this. She looked down. Penny bit her lip, realizing this wasn't good news. Mint and Rudy, who had previously looked so happy, now had looks of fear and worry on their faces. They waited for Rapsheeba to deliver what they knew was going to be bad news.

"They found a tumor."

The color drained from the kids' faces so fast at this. They looked at each other, horror and dread washing over them. They found it hard to believe, and they each wondered if they misheard. Rapsheeba repeated her statement, more clear this time, and they knew that there was no denying it. But it was still hard for them to believe. It was so difficult for them to except it. This was something they never wanted to hear. Something that no one deserved to go through.

A tumor..? But how? How was it possible that Snap had a tumor in his head this whole time? Why didn't the scans pick it up? Although they all theorized that someone was messing with the machine, it was still a difficult thing to swallow. It was so hard for them all to imagine Snap walking around with a tumor in his head. This caused questions to ring through their minds.

What kind of tumor was it?

What kind of damages was it causing?

Is it benign or will it spread?

They knew that the doctors wouldn't have known what type of tumor it was, since all they were able to do was scan it. They could not take a sample of it right then and there, since they had no idea if Snap even had something or not. And they all doubted that the jail would let them have Snap back again for another scan

But at least they knew it was there now. They were aware of this tumor in his head. With the scan alone, they were certain the doctors could figure out if it was going to kill him or not. Surely they would have put that in the paperwork.

Rapsheeba broke the silence as she continued to speak. "The tumor they found was relatively small, but not too small." She put her hand on her head, rubbing in one particular spot. "It's located in the part of the brain that controls memory storage."

Rudy widened his eyes at this. "So this tumor was messing with Snap's memories?"

Rapsheeba nodded her head. "It sure seems like it." She looked back at the papers she was holding. "According to this, the tumor isn't big enough to cause damage, and instead is just blocking some signals in the brain, preventing Snap from remembering the recent past. It seems the brain started to heal itself and began to create a workaround, however it's very weak and obviously it isn't helping Snap remember what happened."

"So if we remove the tumor," Mint rubbed his chin. "We will help Snap regain his memories?"

"That's what the underground doctors are hoping, yes." Rapsheeba said. "He is going to need surgery to remove the tumor. The sooner, the better." She furrowed her eyes. "Although the tumor hasn't caused any lasting damage, Dr. Indigo is concerned that something could happen to complicate matters. It is best we get that thing out as soon as we can."

"Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way." Rudy glanced at his friends. "Do any of you have any ideas?"

Mint shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. It was hard enough to convince that warden guy to allow Snap one visit. Even if we show the results, I doubt he will listen."

Penny didn't answer right away. She lowered her head, her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of something. There had to be a way they could help Snap get rid of this blasted tumor. The most obvious solution was what Rapsheeba said, which was surgery.

But the chances of the head warden letting Snap out again after just a few days... She found that highly unlikely. She recalled what Rudy and Mint said about him. It took them a long time before they could reach any kind of agreement. This Okoth fellow, or whatever his name was, he sounded like he was the type of warden who strictly followed the rules and enforced them. He would likely scoff at any attempt to show him the results, and try to send them away.

So how were they going to get the tumor out of the warden likely would not allow him to leave? How were they going to be able to pull this off? There had to be some way that they could...

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. Her eyes widened as she thought about this idea a little more. What if they didn't have to bring Snap back out themselves? What if they could merely send along a message somehow? Perhaps if they found a way to tell one of the doctors at the hospital, maybe they could convince the warden. If the head warden won't listen to them, maybe he would listen to a doctor. They could just send a message with the results to one of the doctors to help them.

Preferably Dr. Crobat. They hadn't heard too much from the bird zoner in the past few days, but Penny recalled how he was genuinely trying to help Snap. He was the one who noticed something was wrong with the scan. He had seen..something...and now they know what that something was. A tumor. If they could give him the message, he could help get Snap out of here, and to the hospital for an emergency surgery.

But the question was...could they pull it off? Could they get the message to him without much trouble? Would the other doctors even allow them in, or would they be locked off from the hospital? There was Dr. Gelcro to consider...

Penny knew what the only realistic option was.

"We have to head back to the hospital."

"What?" Rudy and Mint said in unison. They looked at Penny, their eyes widened.

"I know it's a risk. Dr. Gelcro will probably try to stop us." Penny narrowed her eyes slightly as she turned her gaze away. "Especially with what happened the last time..."

"I'm sure he wants some payback for that." Mint pointed out.

Rudy nodded. "And he had spread the word. You heard what the zoners think of us now. It's not as bad as how they feel about Snap, but it..."

"I know. The zoners might give us some trouble." Penny paused at this, and she corrected herself. "Okay, they will. But we still have to try to get to the hospital to give the message."

"Or maybe you guys could just draw a message and have it transported somehow?" Rapsheeba suggested. The singer zoner had set the papers down, and had moved a little closer to them. "You don't have to include anything about the message being from you guys. You could just draw something to repeat a message and have it be sent out to the hospital. They might at least give it a listen before they destroy it."

Penny thought about this. It might work. The fear that she and her friends had were that they'd be chased away before they had a chance to get to the hospital. When Mint lost his temper, they had lost some support, and she was aware that there might be at least one zoner who wouldn't be able to control themselves and chase after them.

Even if the zoners manage to keep themselves well behaved, there were a couple other things to consider.

First, the doctors had more of a reason to be aggressive with them than the civilians. Mint had attacked one of them, after all. They were more likely than the civilians to use force when dealing with them. They may try to tear apart any message they tried to deliver in person.

Second, even disregarding all of that, even if the doctors tried to be reasonable with them, there was still that machine. She did have some suspicion that the zoners' increased hostility was partially a result of that machine. She was glad that it wasn't affecting her mind again, like it had before, and she hoped it would never do that again. But she was well aware that it could be happening to the zoners now, and if the culprit wanted to, they could increase the frequency and..

"Perhaps we should head to Sandra's restaurant." Mint held up his hand in gesture. "We were going to go there before, remember?"

"Yeah, we were. I'm still a bit suspicious about the way Sandra acted there. She seemed..determined to not let us see something." Rudy narrowed his eyes. "That's not even getting into what her mental state might be like.."

"What do you mean?" Rapsheeba asked in confusion. "What about her mental state?"

Penny decided to answer this. "We found out that Sandra was one of Mint's creations." She glanced over at the boy. He lowered his head, as if in shame. She looked back. "He had forgotten about her until recently. He said that he intended her to be a healer of some kind, a nurse, but his cousin had altered her design, and he feared he also altered her mind." She paused, letting Rapsheeba take this all in. "We fear that, as a result, Sandra is unstable in someway."

"Well that doesn't mean she did anything." Rapsheeba said. "I hope that..."

Rudy cut her off. "We aren't going to go up and accuse her, Rapsheeba. We just want to get evidence, and see if we can link her." He paused for a moment, colllecting his thoughts. "We have three suspects, and she is the first one we want to investigate."

"We won't directly confront her until we know for certain she's hiding something." Mint folded his arms against his chest. "The best way to clear her name, or to convict her, is to go into that restaurant of hers, and see what she was hiding. She seemed way too adament about keeping us out of the back."

Rapsheeba frowned at this. "That could be because she doesn't want anyone stealing anything." She raised her hand up. "I'm surprised with you three. Just because someone doesn't want you to go in a particular place doesn't mean they are up to something. I mean...when I first moved here, I didn't want you guys back here." She placed her hands against herself. "Did you think I was up to something?"

Penny felt some guilt sting her heart. She realized that Rapsheeba had a good point. Sandra might not be up to something after all. Maybe she just didn't want them getting hurt or something. It could be something as simple as that, rather than her trying to hide the truth from them.

Rudy gave a sigh, his eyes looking left and right. "Well...I understand where you are coming from, Rapsheeba." He lifted up his head enough to look over at the female singer. He bit his lip. "But if Sandra is innocent, then us checking back there would prove that. You have to understand...when it comes to finding out what happened to Snap, we have to consider all possibilities. If Sandra is innocent, then we need to clear her name before someone else suspects her. You understand that, right?"

"Well..." Rapsheeba narrowed her eyes. She looked away from the children for a couple of seconds. She looked back at them, and her expression softened up. "Yeah, I can see that. You're right. It would be better to clear her name than to just not do anything at all." She paused. "But how would you get in the back without any of the customers seeing you?"

This caused the three children to look at each other. That was a very good question. How were they going to do this without drawing attention to themselves?

The restaurant was open right now. There would be a lot of customers. Sandra's popularity ensured that, even when the restaurant had just opened up, there would be many zoners inside. And even in the hours of it being closed, there would be some zoners waiting in line, hoping to get a taste of her specialized meat and whatever other tasty treats she might have. How were they going to get past all of them?

"I'm not getting invisible again!" Mint cried, his eyes wide. He ignored Rapsheeba's confused expression. "That was a horrible experience!"

"Don't worry, Mint. I think we can think of a way without having to do that." Rudy said. He looked over at Penny. "Right, Penny?"

"...yeah." Penny hesitated slightly. This did little to cheer up Mint. "I'm...sure we can."

sss

The three children, as well as Rapsheeba, discussed what they were going to do for what felt like an hour. They tried to think of all kinds of ways that they could sneak into the restaurant without getting caught and without resorting to being invisible.

It was understandable why they didn't want to be invisible again. They were completely blind, left at the mercy of the world. If it weren't for the bird Penny drew, they never would have made it to Snap's room. But they also remembered what happened to said bird. That creepazoid, Dr. Gelcro, had killed the bird in cold blood, thinking it was some kind of spy. It wasn't just that they wanted to avoid becoming blind again; they didn't want to subject another zoner to that kind of fate.

But how were they going to get in if they weren't going to be invisible? There was no time that the restaurant was completely deserted, except at hours that Rudy and his friends could not make. None of them were going to be able to handle a weird time like 3 AM. They were too used to more normal hours that their minds would be wonky and they could screw things up. Coffee wasn't an option due to their age, and due to how it takes a little while to make it. Plus, wouldn't their parents get suspicious?

They tried to think of a suitable time while they were able to get into ChalkZone, but what Rapsheeba had reported didn't sound very promising. She didn't recall a time when that area of the city was deserted. Someone would spot them, no matter which way they came. They would most certainly report to Sandra, and let them know of the strange intrusion. They didn't know how Sandra was going to react when she found out that they were, and they weren't sure if they wanted to know.

Even if the zoners didn't report them, what if they took action themselves? It was possible that some of the more disgruntled zoners might try to do something. Drag them away or something. They would certainly complicate things for them.

It took a while before they remembered something that might help them. They recalled that Snap had found some underground tunnels, and as he had explored them, it eventually led him to the warehouse where that machine was located. The police never did release the full report, but there was talk of how there were a lot of tunnels underground. Nothing was done, since they dismissed it as the sewer network, and everyone already knows what that is.

Perhaps if they were to find out where Snap had been chased off to, they could use that to find this machine. Whether or not it would be at Sandra's restaurant wasn't on their minds at this very moment. The important thing was to locate it and destroy it. Oh and of course figure out what it was being used for.

But getting there wasn't going to be easy. They would still need to traverse through the city. They would have to hope that the zoners don't turn on them when they came through. Even if they just glared at them, they would prefer that over them trying to start a fight.

It was a chance they had to take. They all knew this. If they didn't take the risk and go find this underground tunnel, then they would have a harder time solving the case. They needed to do this. They needed to go back to where they confronted Skrawl and his robot and see if they can remember which way Snap had ran and try to find the spot he had disappeared to.

He had told them some of the directions, but he did not remember everything. Even what he did tell them, it might be inaccurate. This meant that they may be running blind, desperately trying to find something, all the while possibly being chased by angered zoners, depending on how the cirumstances go.

Then Penny had a great idea. They were glad they stayed a little longer to try to perfect the plan, as Rapsheeba had insisted they do. Penny came up with the idea of creating some kind of device, perhaps high-tech goggles, that would show them hidden tunnels underneath the ground. That would buy them some time and help them find the tunnels faster.

It was decided. They all agreed on what they were going to do. The three children waved goodbye to Rapsheeba before they turned and headed out. It was time to find that machine. It was time to end this.

sss

"Ugh..this thing is a little tight.." Rudy fidgeted at the strap around his head. "Couldn't we have made it a little...looser?"

Penny shook her head. "We need them to be tight, Rudy. We can't allow any chances of them falling off." She gave a small smile. "And besides, they look good on you."

Mint nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It makes you look so..." He waved his hand about, making a face as he tried to think of how to continue. "...so..."

Rudy bared his teeth. "Stupid."

Mint cringed away from Rudy, staring at him in shock. "That's..not what I was going to say."

Rudy shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter now anyway." He looked away, turning his attention towards the roads ahead of them. "Come on, we best get to searching." He began to walk down the street, looking left and right slowly. "We have some more searching to do.

Penny and Mint looked at each other and nodded. They quickly joined Rudy. The three friends headed further down the street of ChalkZone City, following Rudy. Although they kept behind Rudy, they still looked around themselves, trying to see if they can find anything suspicious, or anything that was worth checking out.

Rudy hoped that they would be able to find something. He would hate for them to waste all this time looking for something and then come up with no results. After finally getting some results regarding Snap, Rudy would like for this to continue in an upward trend. He hoped that they would be able to find something around here that could help them out. They were getting close to solving this crime. He hoped their luck would continue in this direction.

Rudy tried his best to ignore how the strap was cutting into his skin. He did understand that Penny didn't want them to lose them, but surely they didn't have to have them on this tightly right? It wasn't like they were going to fall over the moment they leaned forward or anything.

They had all decided that goggles were the best way to implement the technology Penny was thinking of. They were smaller, more compact, and easier to travel around with. They were also harder to get a hold of. Should a zoner try to stop them, culprit or not, they would need to get awfully close to them, giving them time to counter.

He pushed aside his thoughts as they continued down the road, looking left and right slowly. He looked through the high-tech goggles, noting the lines that overlapped one another, the various details in the structure all around him, numbers that were piling up in the corner. He couldn't read all this high-tech stuff and he could feel himself getting a headache. But Penny said that what they had to be on the look out for were bold lines. The bold lines were the ones that indicated something underneath the ground.

This was easier said than done, however. There were many bold lines since ChalkZone City had a sewer system. They had to be very careful not to mistake that for the secret passages that they were trying to find. Rudy wasn't sure how difficult they'd be to find, but he knew it would take them a while.

He and his friends continued on their way. They passed by alleyway after alleyway, street after street. They moved by some zoners, most of which left them alone, although a few seemed accusatory, and a couple were clearly wondering what they were doing.

After a while of searching, they didn't really find anything that could help them. All they could find thus far, they had expected to see. Sewege pipes, basements, underground sections of buildings, stuff like that. But they weren't going to give up yet, so they kept up the search.

They soon came into about the middle of the city. They stopped at the curb, looking all around them. They had nearly forgotten how huge this place was. They were practically surrounded by buildings. The tall structures seem to almost encircle them, trapping them inside. The massiveness of the place made them all nervous, but they continued on, pushing aside their anxiety, reminding themselves of what this mission was about.

Suddenly, just as Rudy was going to do down another alleyway, he heard Mint let out a shout. He and Penny turned towards him. They could see he was looking at something on the ground intently, his eyes wide in shock.

Rushing over, Rudy cried, "What do you see?"

Mint didn't look at Rudy. He kept his eyes on the ground. He reached down and rubbed his fingers along the hard floor. His expression was that of perplexion.

"Mint?" Penny tried this time. "What is it?"

After a few moments, Mint looked up at them. "This ground... This is where we had fought Skrawl."

"What?" Rudy narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "But that's..." He paused as he looked down at the ground again. He lowered himself so he could get a closer look. It took him a few seconds to realize what Mint was talking about. "Oh I see it!"

Penny looked at Rudy, and then at the ground. She soon saw it too. "You're right, Mint..."

On the ground, they could see what was clearly a large scrape in the ground. With how hard the cement was here, like in the Real World, they knew that only something large could have made this. The mark itself, a long gash that started off deep, and then got lighter, reminded them of the machine that Skrawl had used. It had legs that could have easily made this mark. And the way it was angled, too...

They were certain of it. This was where they fought Skrawl. While it wasn't the location they were initially going to, this could still help them. They could use this spot to try to figure out which way their friend had ran in.

But he could have gone down any of these streets. How were they going to find the one?

Before they had a chance to think of what to do, they heard footsteps behind them. They froze as they heard some angry cries. Slowly, they turned around. They gasped when they saw a large group of zoners coming in their direction. The three friends huddled close together, watching the zoners and waiting for them to take action.

But the zoners did not speak. Not right away. They just glared at them in an accusatory way. Most of them were glaring at Mint. Rudy watched as his friend cringed back. Rudy took position in front of him, making it clear he was not going to let them near him. Rudy was about to speak when one of the zoners cut him off.

"Give him to us. Give us the Enemy Creator." The zoner said.

"He has turned against us." Another zoner said. "He is not welcome here anymore. Give him to us so we may deal with him properly."

As the zoners all around echoed this sentiment, Rudy and Penny moved closer to Mint protectively, glaring at the zoners in front of them. There wa no way they were just going to hand Mint over like that.

One of the zoners saw this act of defiance. "You both should know that the Enemy Creator conspires against us!" They pointed a finger at them. "You witnessed him attack an innocent zoner! What makes you think we won't try it again?!"

"He made a mistake! Lay off!" Penny shouted at them, holding out her arm in front of Mint. "You know he wouldn't do something like that on purpose!"

"Then what about the time he destroyed large portions of the city?" Sneered a female zoner. "Don't tell me. I'm sure you're going to try to see he was just..cleaning things up or something."

"I-I didn't know that..." Mint started to say.

"The Enemy Creator must be detained!" Cried the first zoner. He raised his fist into the air. "Attack him! Everyone! Attack! Let's stop the Enemy Creator!"

"No..wait!" Mint pleaded.

The three friends didn't waste time. Unable to figure out which way to go, they immediately ran down the nearest alleyway. The zoners raced off after them, some of them picking up speed. The trio dare not look behind them to see how close they were. They focused on running away as fast as they could.

Rudy's mind raced. He couldn't believe how aggressive the zoners had gotten. They hadn't been like this before. The last time they ran into any zoner that showed them hostility, the worst they did was glare and made a rude comment. But never before had they gathered up into a mob and outright assault them like this. He could see the looks in their eyes. The zoners were dead serious in what they were about to do.

Cold shivers ran through his body. He looked at his friends. He could see the look of fear on their faces. He took a chance and, gulping, he looked behind them. He could see that the zoners were rapidly gaining on them. The boy pushed himself to go faster, calling out to his friends to do the same thing. They continued running along, making turns every so often in hopes of losing the zoners.

"What...what has...gotten into..them...?" Mint panted heavily. Fear was tinged on his voice, his eyes wide. "I have never...seen...them act this way...b-before..!"

"Neither have I..." Penny said breathlessly. She smacked her lips together, licking them slowly. "I knew they were angry but..I never thought they...would do this..."

Rudy reflected their feelings. "I've never seen...zoners do this...before.." He paused for a moment. "Well th-there was..that one time when...those Snips arrived... The zoners thought..he was the one causing..t-trouble.. They chased him...but they did not...try to hurt him..." He swallowed, wincing at the dryness of his throat. "They just..y-yelled at him."

This bit of news terrified the children even more. The contrast between how the zoners acted then and now was jarring. Except for very few zoners, none of them ever really tried to hurt them, even when they were angry. The zoners were absolutely pissed at Snap during the Snip incident, but they didn't really try to hurt him. And the doctors from before, they weren't trying to do anything to them physically. They were angry and jumping to conclusions, but nothing worse than that.

Even when Dr. Gelcro did attack out of anger, he merely slashed Penny across the face. It still made them furious that he would do such a thing. But the lacerations weren't that deep, and it was easy for them to cover it up with their folks. Rapsheeba, Snap, and a few other zoners expressed concern, but the cuts weren't that bad, and right now, they were quite light on the skin and hard to really notice.

But now, the zoners here intended real harm. They weren't going to stop at yelling. They weren't going to stop at knocking them down. They were going to hurt them. Badly. They had to get out of here.

"Come back here!"

"You can't hide from us!"

"The Enemy Creator must die!"

Rudy dared another glance behind him. A bunch of zoners, mostly humanoid ones, were getting closer, their speed increasing. He could see the look of anger and rage in their eyes, the determination to hurt. Seeing this sent ice through his heart. Fear swelled in his stomach, making him feel sick.

Why would the zoners do something like this? They weren't normally this aggressive. He could see a small group of a couple individuals, but he couldn't recall a time when this many zoners attacked at once, this many seeking to do harm. What could be wrong with them?

That's Penny's fear-filled voice filled the air.

"It's the machine! The culprit is using the machine to make them act this way!"

Rudy looked at Penny, his eyes wide in horror. "Wh-What?!"

"The machine?!" Mint cried. "How can you be so sure?"

Penny took in a few heavy breaths. She licked her lips nervously. "L-Look at the zoners' eyes...! Th-There's something in them..!"

Although Rudy and Mint were confused, though they were afraid to look back again, they did so. They shivered at the sight of the rage-filled zoners, especially Mint whom was their current target. Upon looking, they both could see what Penny was talking about.

There was something up with the zoners' eyes. They didn't look..normal. They weren't glowing or anything. But there was something about them that was rather off putting. Something that didn't feel right. It was a look that told them that what they were doing wasn't entirely of their will. They might have been angry already, but something else was driving their urge to chase them. There was only thing thing they could think of that could do something like this.

The machine...

Perhaps the culprit had caught word on what they were doing and wanted to slow them down. They must have reactivated the machine's mind changing ability and targeted certain zoners, magnifying their anger and driving them into attack mode.

With this knowledge in mind, the children did the only thing they could think of. They kept running. They knew they could not break the zoners out of this trance. They had to find that secret passageway and fast.

"Down this way!" Rudy made a turn on the nearest alleyway he could see. It was a sharp turn and he nearly tripped over himself doing so. "Hurry!"

His friends attempted to follow him. Penny made, turning practically on a dime. She tripped, wincing as her recently damaged leg was bent a little. But she managed to make it and followed Rudy. They froze when they realized that Mint was not with them. The horror that rushed through them appeared just as they heard their friend scream.

Behind them, Mint had missed the turn. His prosthetic leg had got caught on a groove in the ground. He was thrust into the hard surface, letting out a loud whimper of pain as his face collided with the concrete ground. Dust kicked up as he laid there for a few seconds. He attempted to push himself up onto his hands, his body trembling, but he did not get his chance.

"Get him!"

Mint looked over. His eyes widened in horror as about ten humanoid zoners barreled down on him. He barely had time to let out a scream as the zomers smacked into him, and trapped him in a vicious circle.

"Mint! No!" Rudy shouted in horror as he and Penny rushed over to try to help their friend.

Mint's screams filled the air, chilling their blood. The zoners attacked him mercilessly, using their nails to rip at his skin, biting him with their teeth. They punched him and they kicked him, tossing him across the ground. By the time Rudy and Penny were out of the alleyway, the zoners had chased Mint, who had tried to escape, down further.

The sight of Mint horrified them. At this point, he was covered in small wounds that were just piling up. Red stains they knew to be blood decorated him, and many bruises were forming. He was covered in dirt and scrapes and his clothes were getting a little ripped up.

"Leave him alone!" Penny cried.

But the zoners ignored her. The ten zoners that were able to still follow them continued their assault on Mint. Even as the boy pleaded with them, even as he cried in pain, they did not let up on the attack.

Then, to their horror, one of the zoners knocked Mint onto his stomach and ripped off his prosthetic. Mint let out a cry of pain as the fake leg was removed. It was tossed far away from him, where the largest of the humanoid zoners crushed it underneath the weight of his foot. Now Mint was helpless and unable to get away. No longer able to stand, he made some attempts to crawl away, only to be attacked with increased vigor.

Knowing that Mint stood no chance to get away now, Rudy and Penny rushed forward. They pushed their way through the zoners, knocking them aside. They soon reached Mint and they wrapped their arms around him protectively.

"Back off!" Rudy snarled. "Stop this!"

"Get out of the way..." One of the zoners snarled. "Or you will get taken care of first..."

Rudy glared at the zoner who spoke. He stared into his clearly brainwashed eyes. He bared his teeth and shook his head. "Never..."

The zoner looked from him and to Penny. When he realized they weren't going to back off, he gave a dark, twisted smile. "Very well then.." He turned to the other humanoid zoners behind them and made a gesture. "Let's kill them all!"

As the zoners rushed towards them, each with a murderous glare in their eyes, Rudy and Penny helped the shaken up Mint up from the ground. With no prosthetic leg and no time to draw some crutches, they helped him down another alleyway. Rudy used his weaker left arm to draw a quick, simple wall to slow down the zoners. He put his chalk away and the three of them hobbled down the alleyway as fast as they could.

They didn't stop for a break. They didn't look where they were going. They didn't pay attention if they were heading the right way. At the moment, the only thing on their minds was getting away from the angry zoners. They heard the zoners' furious shouts and insults and threats, making them move even faster. They disappeared down through the network of alleyways, making random turns, hoping to lose them.

sss

Mosaic...sometimes she can be a real piece of work. Normally she was more well behaved, but the fact that she had gotten outside at all, even though she was trained not to, it concerned Dr. Crobat. It was dangerous out there with an unknown assailant running around. What if something had happened to her? He wasn't sure if he'd forgive himself if that were the case.

Although Mosaic was a hospital pet of sorts, Dr. Crobat did feel some kind of attachment to her. He wasn't sure why. He wasn't even the one who brought her here in the first place. There just..something about her that drew him to her, made him feel some level of protectiveness over her.

When he had found out from the other doctors that she had gone missing, he was horrified. Dr. Gelcro thinks the kids did something to her. Dr. Crobat dismissed his friend's idea as some some kind of poppycock. He knew the husky was just bitter because he still felt that Snap was responsible. He doubted that the children would do anything to Mosaic. She must have gotten out on her own.

He had left the hospital as soon as he could to go find her. He searched up and down the alleyways, calling out her name. He talked to some zoners. They all seemed a bit aggressive, though not towards him. Their behavior struck him as odd, but he dismissed it as he kept trying to find Mosaic.

He did eventually find her. She was leaning against the wall of a building, looking exhausted and frightened. He immediately rushed towards her to help her out. He stopped when he saw that something was wrong with her.

She had been injured...

Dr. Crobat couldn't stifle the horror-filled gasp as he noticed all the injuries on Mosaic's body. They hadn't been there earlier that day when he had last seen her. She must have gotten these during her excursion outside. He stared at her, his heart twisting at the blood stains, the scrapes, and bruises her body now adorned. Who..who could have done this to her?

He carefully picked her up in his arms. She hissed and struggled, her eyes filling with pain and panic. He held on as tightly as he could without causing much pain and he rushed her to the hospital. He would have taken her to the vet, but the hospital was much closer.

The doctors were horrified by her state. Some of them, Dr. Gelcro included, tried to use this as an excuse that the children really were up to something. One of the doctors, Dr. Thurston, recounted how Mint had viciously attacked him earlier. They all proposed that they go find the children and try to get them arrested.

Dr. Crobat was unnerved by this behavior. It became even scarier when he himself began to have feelings along that nature. He could feel an anger rise up inside of him, and he nearly began to agree with them. It took him a while to fight back the feelings and regain control of himself.

Even now, as he stood in the room with Mosaic, stroking her back, he still could feel those sensations, the desire to go after the kids. He knew these feelings weren't his. He knew his brain was being bombarded with them. Someone was trying to take control over him. He did his best to keep himself from losing control. He had to remain here, in this room, which he had locked from the inside in an attempt to slow himself down.

The machine...it had to be the machine. It must be turned on again. He wondered how widespread the effects were, and how many zoners were affected by it. Not all the doctors seemed to be bothered, and only the sickest patients seemed to show any strange behaviors. Outside, most of the zoners were agitated, but whether or not this was the work of the machine, he was not able to tell. He had no way of finding out, either. He didn't know where the machine was.

He knew, despite the artificial anger swelling inside of him, that Rudy, Penny, and Mint weren't responsible for this. He had a hard time believing that they would turn against ChalkZone so easily. As for Mint's attack, after some further questioning, it seemed that Dr. Thurston had provoked Mint into it. He was sure that Mint felt sorry for what he had done, and that he was working with Penny and Rudy in finding out how to stop this menace before more havoc was wreaked upon ChalkZone City.

He hoped that the children were able to find a way to stop this mess soon. He hoped that they would find out who was causing all of this, and bring them to justice. He also hoped that they were able to clear Snap's name. He felt ashamed that he couldn't help him, and he could only hope that there was someone out there who could aid him.

He looked back down at Mosaic. She was sleeping at the moment, curled up next to him. Her wounds were bandaged up and she looked much better. He smiled at her sleeping form, stroking her along her back. He listened to her gravelly breathing as she rested soundly. Then he frowned. He couldn't help but wonder if the culprit will come back after her. If they did, he would make sure they didn't get a chance to hurt her again.

He heard a knock on his door. He lifted up his head and turned it so that his beak faced towards the door. "Who is it?" He called out.

"It's me."

Dr. Crobat narrowed his eyes. Usually he would be happy to see Dr. Gelcro. But lately his friend has been acting in ways that he did not approve of. This was a side of the husky he never saw before, and it unnerved him.

But he didn't want to be rude or shut him out. So he said, "Hold on. I'll get the door."

Dr. Crobat got up from the bed, careful not to jostle Mosaic around too much. He walked towards the door slowly. When he reached it, he undid the sliding lock near the top, and he turned the knob lock until he was able to open the door all the way. He watched as his dog-like friend walked into the room slowly.

"Is there anything you wanted to talk about, Dr. Gelcro?" Dr. Crobat winced at how dark his voice sounded. He hadn't meant to sound that cold to his friend. Perhaps he was angrier than he had once believed. "I mean..."

"No, don't worry about it." Dr. Gelcro raised his paw in the air. "I understand. I wasn't behaving rather well lately, I admit it." He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the bird. "But you do have to realize that you have to stop defending those kids. Word has gotten out that the Enemy Creator attacked a zoner with his prosthetic leg."

"What?! That's impossible!" The bird zoner cried, jolting from the shock. "He wouldn't do that!"

"Oh no?" Dr. Gelcro tilted his head. "There were witnesses that heard the screams, and when they came over, they found the boy's fake leg laying on the ground, clearly used. It was all bent and twisted."

"Th-That didn't mean that he hurt anyone!" Dr. Crobat refused to believe it. "Did these zoners even see any of this happen? Do they have snapshot proof?"

"Well..no..." Dr. Gelcro lowered his head. For a brief moment, his expression had softened up, showing uncertainty. He then glared back at the bird zoner, his lips curling back slightly to show his rows of sharp teeth. "But it doesn't mean he didn't do it either."

Dr. Crobat glared at his friend. He knew he should have just turned him away. He should have told him he was too busy for this. He was not in the mood to hear more of his friend's wild claims. He had enough to worry about at the moment.

Dr. Gelcro interrupted his thoughts. "Anyway, I didn't come in here about that." He turned his head, looking down at Mosaic. A look of concern plastered over his muzzle. "We need to get her checked out."

"What? But we already have." Dr. Crobat said. He didn't know what the dog was talking about. They had already done scans on her, checked her internal organs, treated her wounds, whatever else. What could they have missed? "She doesn't need anything else done. She's fine."

"On the outside perhaps." Dr. Gelcro said plainly. "But what about her mind?"

"Huh?" Now Dr. Crobat was really confused.

Dr. Gelcro closed his eyes. "She didn't start acting weird until I found her in Snap's old room with her. I think it's safe to assume that they were the reason she started acting differently."

"That's crazy talk. I'm sure there was a good reason for.."

"Do you really believe that? Think about it, old friend." Dr. Gelcro opened up his eyes, looking back at the bird. "Has Mosaic ever disobeyed us before? Has she ever gone outside without our permission? Has she ever knocked any of us over? I think you will find that the answer is always no, am I right?"

"Well..yeah... But..." Dr. Crobat tried to say.

Dr. Gelcro cut him off. "The only constant that changed from back then to now are those kids." Dr. Crobat glared at this. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes, then took on a more sympathetic look. "Look, I..." He reached forward and touched him on the shoulder. "I understand how you must feel. I know you want to give those kids the benefit of the doubt. So do I, but the evidence is just too clear."

"Benefit of the doubt? Why do I not believe that?" Dr. Crobat growled at him. "You seemed all too eager to lock Snap up, and you were quick in turning against Mint." He turned his head away, folding his wing arms against his chest. "Sorry, old friend, but I do not believe you."

Dr. Gelcro gasped at this, taking a few steps away. Dr. Crobat felt some level of guilt rising up inside of him. This feeling worsened when he looked over and saw the look of hurt and betrayal and Dr. Gelcro's face. He wanted to try to make it better. But he was not liking the person that Dr. Gelcro had become. This wasn't the husky he had known before.

Dr. Gelcro then narrowed his eyes. He growled softly, his body giving a quick shake as though it wanted to get rid of the growing anger inside of him. Dr. Crobat took a step back, worried that the dog might attack him. Instead, however, Dr. Gelcro lowered his head and sighed. His ears lowered against his head, and he gave his friend a saddened look.

"I am sorry it has come to this. Really I am." He placed a paw against his chest. "I hold no deeper regret than this. I just hope that, when this is all over, we can look back on this and laugh." The dog lifted up his head, looking towards the ceiling. He then looked back at the bird zoner. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

Dr. Crobat glared at him. Then he sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah. It would be."

Dr. Gelcro gave a quick smile before his frown returned. He looked at Mosaic and said, "I am still taking her to get her brain checked out. And before you say anything, this wasn't just my idea." He looked back the bird. "Most of the other doctors want this done. Either you let me take her, or someone else will."

Dr. Crobat narrowed his eyes, but he did not attempt to put up a fight. He knew that Dr. Gelcro spoke the truth. Most of the doctors were convinced that something was wrong with not just Snap, but the three humans as well. He knew that most of them likely thought something was wrong with Mosaic due to whatever actions they felt that the kids had made. He wouldn't be surprised if the doctors thought Rudy, Penny, or Mint were responsible for Snap's supposed change in behavior.

Knowing that he could not fight back, and not feeling up to challenging his friend to a fight, Dr. Crobat took a step back and made a motion with his hand. Dr. Gelcro nodded to him, giving him a silent thank you. He watched as Dr. Gelcro came towards the bed and picked up the crocodile zoner in his arms with some effort.

"The tests won't last long. I promise." Dr. Gelcro said. "I'll bring her back here when they are done. I'll give you the news on what we find, okay?"

"Okay. Thank you." Dr. Crobat said rather dully. He didn't say another word as Dr. Gelcro left with Mosaic, leaving him alone in the room.

sss

Snap stared down at the tray of food that he had gotten. He sniffed it and wrinkled his nose at the horrible smell. He must have been in this place for a while, and he still hadn't gotten used to the food here. But knowing he was not going to get anything else, he still ate it anyway.

As he slowly chewed and swallowed the bland food, he thought about the upcoming trial. It was very soon. When was it going to be again? Tomorrow? Yes...he wanted to say it was going to be tomorrow. A date that was going to come up very soon. He'd wake up, forget what was going on, and he would be dragged into court, where his fate would be decided.

He could feel his heart twist in anticipation. He knew that there was no going back. There would be no more delays. His friends...he wasn't sure if they found out anything, and even if they did, he wasn't sure if they would be able to deliver the news in time. The wardens here may not allow it, or they may not listen. Even if they did, they might still go on with the trial anyway. The realization that he might be stuck in her forever with these zoners...it filled him with a strong sense of horror.

He hoped that things would begin to change soon. That scan that was performed on him, he hoped it would turn up with something. That brain scan was the only thing that could prove his innocense. It was the only way that the zoners would realize he was not the one to blame for the deaths of all those zoners.

It was going to be a long and difficult journey ahead, he knew. There was no denying that. He couldn't get out of it. Not on his own. His friends were the only ones who could help them, but he knew they would have a hard time as well. He mentally prepared himself for any hardships up ahead.

"Well, well, well..."

Speaking of hardships... Snap turned his head to see the familiar tall zoner coming towards him. Snap wanted to have some kind of defiant reaction to him. He felt a sense of accomplishment knowing that the scan could prove his innocense. But he dare not do such a thing. He knew that things could still go wrong, and he learned painful lesson after painful lesson not to mess with this zoner. So he kept quiet.

"I guess you decided to have something to eat after all." Taima sneered as he approached with his own food. "I thought you were too scared to eat."

Snap looked away, turning his attention back to his food. He reached down with his fork, twirling it a little in the food. He brought it up and took another bite. He fought back the urge to spit it out and swallowed it whole. He nearly choked when he felt something slap against his back.

"Yeah, this food gets a while to get used to, eh?" Taima said with a grin. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time to get used to it once you are convicted and this becomes your permanent new home."

Snap shuddered, realizing the zoner was right. If he was convincted, this was the jail he'd be trapped in. He wouldn't be surprised if he would remain trapped with Taima. The thought of that send cold shivers up and down his spine.

The only good thing he could say about Taima is that he at least keeps the other zoners at bay. Taima was determined to remain dominant over him, determined to keep him as his own, that he would not allow any of the other zoners approach him..usually. At times, as a way of letting them get revenge, he'd let them beat him up a little. He'd never let it go too far, but only because he wanted to be the one to give him the worst pain.

Snap noticed Taima leaning towards him. The zoner being this much closer to him made him feel unnerved. He cringed away, lowering his head towards the table. Snap did not like showing submission like this, but in this case, he knew he had no choice. It was either this, or another beatdown.

Taima smirked at Snap's submissive behavior. He stared at him for a few seconds, his eyes boring through his. He did not move away until Snap averted his gaze, submitting to him. Taima leaned back and gave a couple of chuckles, indicating that he was enjoying his dominant position over him.

"I still think we should have some fun tonight." Taima said in a twisted voice. Snap looked up at him in horror. "We were interrupted before. I want to actually start and finish this time." Taima gave Snap a downwards glance. "Oh don't worry.. I'll hold back. I don't want to hurt you too much..."

Snap worked up the courage to speak. "Wh-Why..? You already had your pleasure... Why do you need to break me more...?"

Taima shot him a glare, making Snap shrink down further. "Because you stole something from me. So I am stealing something from you." He took a bite of his food, chomping loudly and swallowing. "I am taking away your freedom. You no longer decide what you are going to do." He jabbed the fork at himself. "I do. Do you understand?"

Snap gave a shudder. Part of him wanted to retort back. Part of him wanted to tell the zoner how much his actions could bite him back in the rear end. But he dare not do that, for fear of getting hurt again. Keeping his head low, he nodded, not speaking a word.

"Good." Taima reached down and gave Snap a few pats on the head like he was a tamed dog. "Remember... Tonight, you and me. Together." He slung his arm around him, pulling him into a partial hug. There was no comfort here. It was Taima's way of showing how much control he has over him. An act that no other prisoner would dare do since they saw him as a mastermind monster. To them, Taima's actions spoke volumes. "I'll make it quick. That much, I can promise you."

Snap shivered. A low whimper escaped his throat as he turned away. It was hard tearing his gaze away from Taima's. That stick figure's gaze was like a vice, holding him tightly, refusing to let him go.

But at least now there was hope. He could not let go of that. He refused to let go. His friends may be a step closer to proving his innocense. He just had to believe in them. They would pull through for him. Sooner or later, they would come in here and show the zoners that he really was innocent. It was just a matter of time.

"Oh and if you are thinking your precious human friends are going to help you, keep dreaming." Came Taima's cold voice. He put his utensil into his tray of food, lifting up another slap of bland meat. He looked at it, twirling it around as if examining it. "They will not succeed. They have been trying for days, and guess what?" He looked back down at Snap. "They found nothing. And they never will."

"You don't know that." Snap said simply, his head still lowered.

Taima chuckled at this. He reached down and grabbed Snap by his head. He tilted his head, forcing Snap to look up at him. "Neither do you, pal. I guess we'll find out at the trial, won't we?" He stared at Snap for a few seconds, smiling at him. He took a small bite of the food on his utensil, making sure his lips touched some of the food and the metal. Then he said, "So why don't you keep up the strength and...eat!"

Without warning, Taima shoved the tip of his utensil into Snap's mouth. The zoner gagged as he was forcefed food that Taima had eaten from. Taima yanked back hard after ensuring the remainder of the meat ended up in the zoner's mouth. He then used his hands to keep Snap's mouth closed. Snap jerked and struggled, but Taim was too strong.

After a few seconds, Snap was forced to swallow. Only after he did this did Taima let him go. The stick figure smirked down at him in satisfaction as Snap coughed and wheezed, wiping his mouth. Snap looked up at him in disgust and horror.

"Oh don't give me that look. It wasn't that bad and you know it." Taima sneered. He turned his attention back to his plate. "Now hurry up and eat your food so we can get back."

Snap continued to stare at Taima. He couldn't believe what that zoner had just done. Snap shuddered and gave a couple of spits of disgust as he tried to get the taste out of his mouth. He gave another wipe, and, eventually, he turned his attention back to his food. Slowly, he resumed eating.

sss

"Phew... I-I think we lost them..." Penny said as she leaned against the wall of the building. Her heart pounded against her chest, feeling as though it was going to burst free.

"A-Are you sure...?" Mint said with a whimper. His voice was cracked, and there was a haunted look in his eyes. "Are you sure they aren't still following us?"

Rudy took this moment to look around the corner. He darted his eyes left and right. He then pulled back and looked at his friends. He shook his head. "No. They're gone. We're safe now."

Mint gave a sigh of relief. His body was still shaking, though, making it difficult for him to use the crutches Rudy was able to draw for him on the run. He gripped them tightly, doing his best to keep himself elevated. Without his prosthetic, his stance was really off balance. If it weren't for this pair of cruches, he would fall flat on the ground and hurt himself.

He was still shaken up by what had just transpired to day. He was not expecting to be attacked by zoners today. Then again, neither did his friends. He could still their voices shouting insults and threats to him. He could still feel their nails and teeth on him, their fists and feet collidng with him. His body echoed and wracked with pain. Though he was not hurt as badly as he could have been, he was still weakened. He didn't know how well he'd handle a second attack.

The zoners were absolutely relentless. They kept coming after him. Even when he begged and cried, they would not leave him alone. He tried to crawl away. He tried to do whatever he could to escape. He almost did, but he was dragged right back into the madness. He shivered at the horrific, recent memory.

At least it was over..for now. Mint tried his best to cast aside his fear so he could focus on what they were trying to do before. They had to find that underground tunnel and quickly. They had little time left. They all knew that Snap's trial was soon. If they did not prove his innocence before then... well it was going to be a lot harder helping their friend, to put it mildly.

Rudy walked down further in the alleyway they were in. His eyes were focused intently on something. He and Penny, both of whom had lost their goggles, watched him curiously. Had he found something?

This seemed to be the case. Rudy lowered himself down onto one knee, and he was moving his hands along the ground. Then his eyes widened and he turned to him and Penny. He made quick gestures with his hands, urging them to come over.

When Penny and Mint arrived, they could see the look in Rudy's eyes. They were right. Rudy had found something. The question was..is it going to help them?

"Penny, help me lift this up." Rudy said.

"Lift what up?" Penny asked.

"Yeah..I don't see anything." Mint wished he could take a closer look, but with these crutches, that was just not possible.

Rudy pressed his fingers against a section of the ground. He dug around it, and soon they could see something moving a little underneath. It took them seconds to realize that something was hidden here. A secret door of some kind. Penny lowered herself to the ground and aided Rudy in removing it. With a loud screech and a heavy thud, they were able to remove the lid, setting it down on the ground nearby.

Exposed before them was a dark opening, shaped like a square almost. There was a ladder that went downward, stuck to the wall and made of wobbly metal pieces. The three friends looked at each other, realizing what they had just discovered.

A secret passage.

Was it the same one that Snap had found before? There was only one way to find out.

Rudy glared at the opening, and then he looked back at Mint. "Penny and I will explore the tunnels and see what we can find. You have to head somewhere safe."

Penny pointed her finger towards Mint's pocket. "I know it will be hard for you, but you must get back into the real world. It's too dangerous for you to remain here."

Mint would have argued with them, but he knew they were right. There was no way he could follow them as he was now. Without his prosthetic leg, forced to use these crutches, he would just slow them down. He sighed and nodded his head in understanding.

"I hope you two will be fine." Mint looked over at the opening. He hobbled over towards it with his crutches. He looked down at the tunnel below, seeing just how high up it was. He bit his lip. "This looks really high..."

Mint was not able to finish his sentence when his right crutch suddenly slipped on something. His eyes bulging in horror, he let out a scream as he found himself plummeting down the hole.

"Mint!"

Mint heard his friends calling out to him as he fell down the hole. He hit against the side of the tunnel's walls. A few times, he felt himself bang against the metal ladder pieces. In a matter of seconds, he landed in a heap on the ground, pain radiating from his body. He pushed himself up onto his hands, assessing the damage.

The fall granted him a few more bruises, but he didn't seem hurt worse than that. His crutches were nowhere to be seen and he could only guess that they were still on the street above him. He looked up and he could see the faint shapes of his friends looking down at him.

He lifted up a hand and cupped it to his mouth. "I'm fine!"

Mint remained on the ground, not like he had much of a choice otherwise, and watched as his friends rushed down the tunnel to help him. It took them a little while due to the disrepair of the ladder. But they soon made it.

As soon as they did, they rushed to Mint's side. Rudy helped Mint up to his remaining right foot as Penny drew him a new pair of crutches for him to use. After they got him situated, and Mint was able to stand without their aid, they took this time to look down the tunnel, taking not of where they were.

The tunnels appeared pretty clean, though some areas looked a little dirty. The tunnels had a round shape to them, a point at the top. The tunnels were largely dry, with barely a wet spot anywhere. There was a strong smell in the tunnels, but it wasn't exactly putrid. It smelled more...more like business was the closest word any of them could come up with.

It didn't take them long to make one important conclusion.

"This is not the sewer..." Penny whispered.

It was true. Snap had initially thought he was in the sewer, but later analysis showed otherwise. What Snap described was closer to this, though not exactly, than the actual sewer itself. What these tunnels were...none of the zoners could explain, and many of them insist that these tunnels did not exist. Much to their annoyance, and no surprise, even the cops think that Snap had gotten into the sewer, and that these tunnels did not exist, even after they investigated.

Mint nodded his head in agreement. He hobbled forward a little, looking all around. "This might be that network of underground tunnels that Snap told us about." He looked back at his friends. "The ones that the culprit might be hiding from us by messing with the zoners' minds."

Rudy and Penny looked at each other, gritting their teeth. The idea was frightening. They could be heading down the path to where the culprit was hiding out. But on the other hand, it was exciting. They were getting close to uncovering the culprit's true identity. As soon as they had this figured out, they could have the culprit arrested and their friend would be freed. And the zoners would be safe.

Rudy turned Mint. He sighed. "Well I guess you are coming with us. We can't leave you alone here."

"I don't think the zoners will find me here." Mint pointed out. He looked up at where he fell from. He winced. "They probably won't notice me from that far up."

"I insist, Mint." Rudy said. He gently gripped his arm. "We would feel better if you were with us. We don't know where this is in relation to the Real World. You could get hurt going back, or accidentally expose this world. We don't know what kind of dangers are lurking in these tunnels."

"Yeah. It's better if you come with us." Penny said.

Mint didn't want to keep his friends waiting. He was eager to get a move on. He was eager to find this culprit and stop them once and for all. He narrowed his eyes and nodded his head once. "All right then. Let's go."

sss

The three friends had been walking through the tunnels for a while. They looked left and right, looking for any indication on where to go. There were no signs down there. There was nothing to mark directions. They didn't even know what purpose these tunnels served. They made random turns, knowing there wasn't much else they could do. They had to explore these caves, look for any sign of the culprit, or the machinery they were using.

It felt like they had been exploring the tunnels for hours, and they still did not find anything useful. They were getting exhausted, especially Mint. It was pretty painful to use the crutches for this long. Rudy and Penny offered to rest, but Mint insisted they keep going. He was more concerned about helping Snap than his own personal needs. He shrugged off the exhaustion and continued hobbling himself down the tunnels.

Rudy hoped they would reach something soon. He didn't want Mint to exhaust himself, and he didn't want to be trapped down here. He hoped that, soon, they would find something familiar. He hoped they would find something that could lead them to the culprit. These were the tunnels Snap was trapped in. If they kept following them, surely, they would find something sooner or later.

Then he stopped. His friends paused behind him. He could feel their eyes boring into the back of his head. He stared out in front of him. There, right in front of them, was a large, marble door.

Where had this come from? When they were coming down this way, he didn't notice it. How could it have blended in so well? Perhaps it was the shadows. He noticed there was some shading around here. And perhaps he and his friends were so deep in thought, they did not take notice to it until now. Licking his lips nervously, he approached it cautiously.

"Be careful, Rudy." Penny said, reaching her hand out towards him.

"I will." Rudy called out to her.

Rudy soon reached the door. He looked at it up and down. He reached forward and quickly tapped the door, pulling his hand away immediately. The door was cold, but it didn't seem to be booby trapped or anything. He then placed both his hands on the door. He pressed his ear against it. He couldn't hear anything for a while, but soon he took notice of something.

There was a humming sound on the other side. Low, faint, but still there. His eyes widened. Realizing what this could lead them to, he began to push the door open. He slammed his shoulder against it, pushing as hard as he could. Slowly, as Penny joined in to help him, the door opened up. There was a loud creak as the door moved, making them all flinch.

To their relief, there was no one in here. But that didn't mean they relaxed. The three friends walked forward, staring wide eyed at the large room that the door had led them into. They couldn't believe it. They could see it before them. They had hoped they'd be here. But it was still hard to fully comprehend it.

They were in the warehouse. The one that Snap had been in before. The place where it all began. They looked all around, seeing the boxes and metal shelves everywhere, exactly as Snap had described it.

"Rudy...look..." Penny breathed.

At this, Rudy turned his head to where Penny was pointing, where Mint was gaping in horror at. Rudy soon saw what they were looking at. He took in a sharp gasp, moving a step backwards.

It was that blasted machine...


	27. Shocking Discovery

Tonight, I take your eyes, mind, and tongue to spread the word and watch your kingdom come.

-Special Pets, Otep

sss

Penny couldn't believe it. Even though she saw it right before her eyes, even though she could see it was plainly there, it was hard for her to believe that they had did it. They actually found it.

They found the machine.

She, Mint, and Rudy remained frozen where they stood, their feet firmly planted on the ground. They stared out ahead of them, to where the machine was. It was placed near one of the tall shelves, leaning slightly against it, although it looked sturdy enough to steady itself. The machine was rather large, much bigger than they thought it was going to be. Even from this distance, they could tell that it was taller than they were, and too heavy for just one of them to carry.

Slowly, cautiously, they approached. They occassionally looked left to right to make sure that no one else was in here. But their main focus was on this machine. Their eyes were glued to it. They found it difficult to look away. The machine looked so...threatening despite not knowing exactly what it does.

As they got closer, they began to make out details of the machine. Each new piece of information did little to comfort them, nor did it bring them closer to understanding exactly what it did. This lack of knowledge made the machine even more threatening-looking. How were they going to stand a chance at stopping it if they didn't even know what it did? Well outside of messing with the minds of zoners, and sometimes, humans.

At this thought, the three of them tensed up. The machine didn't seem to be targeting now, but what if that changed quickly? What if the machine attempted to taint their minds, and make them have thoughts and take actions they normally would not? What were they going to do if that happened? How would they escape?

They shook the thought out of their minds. At least the machine doesn't seem to be targeting them now, and whoever made this thing was nowhere in sight. They had time to take a look at it, determine its function, and shut it down before more damage was wreaked across ChalkZone City.

Soon they stood a few feet away from the machine. They looked at it up and down. They took in its features, noting the way it had been put together, clearly modeled using pieces of equipment fused together.

Penny then made the connection. "This looks like it was pieced together using parts from the Future Dome..."

Rudy's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, you're right." Rudy took a step forward. He reached out towards the machine as if to touch it. He stopped himself and pulled back when Penny shot him a worried look. "I wonder how this culprit managed to get parts from there. Future Dome is not exactly a tourist site, and then there's Craniac 4."

"Maybe Craniac 4 simply sold the parts?" Mint shrugged his shoulders the best he could while using the crutches. "I can see him doing that."

Penny narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin. "Well that is certainly possible.." She looked back at the machine. "That doesn't tell us what this thing does, though."

Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. "And I doubt that Craniac 4 could help us, even if he wanted to." He walked to the side, his eyes glued to the machine. He looked at it, scrutinizing it. "This doesn't seem like something he'd build. Plus..." He walked to the other side, his eyes never leaving the odd contraption. "He may have just delivered the parts, but had no idea what they were going to be used for."

"So the question is..." Penny folded her arms against her chest. "How do we find out what this thing does?" She motioned her hand towards the machine.

"We could press buttons and find out." Mint suggested.

Penny shook her head. "That would be a terrible idea, Mint." She gave him a sideways glance, a slight frown on her face. "What if the machine has a super destructive, dangerous option? If we hit that, we could hurt ourselves, or we could end up hurting others."

Upon hearing this, Mint's eyes widened. Then he nodded his head. "Yeah...good point." He looked back at the machine. He stared at it for a moment, then he widened his eyes. "I think that must be what's sending off that signal."

Rudy and Penny looked back over at the machine. There was a spear-like structure jetting out of the side of the machine. It was jagged-looking, ready to slice and dice. But from the way it was plastered to the side, it was clear that this thing was not intended to be a physical attacker. There was glow to it that almost seemed ominous. They could hear a pulsating sound coming from this spot, although it was hard to tell if it was the machine or if it was this spear thing.

"It looks to be an antenna of sorts..." Penny said after studying the object a little while longer.

"An antenna?!" Mint cried in disbelief. "That's the freakiest antenna I've ever seen!"

Rudy gave a small smile to Mint. "Welcome to ChalkZone."

Mint glared at this, then he shifted his attention back to the machine. "Can we remove it?"

Penny walked closer to the machine. She looked at where the spear-like structure was attached to the machine. She could see a clear, hardened substance around it. Glue. She touched the spear gently, pulling her hand back. Feeling no pain and realizing it was safe to touch, Penny grabbed onto it and began to pull. It didn't take her long to realize it was not going to budge. It must be superglued on.

"Well that's not going to work." Mint said, noticing Penny's failure. "Maybe there's another way?"

"Didn't Snap knock it over?" Rudy suggested. He glared softly at the machine. "Maybe if we work together, we can destroy this machine as well."

"But we haven't figured out what it does yet." Penny said. "We need to do that first before we try to destroy it."

"We also need to find out who made it. Otherwise, this will just keep happening." Said Mint.

"Yeah..." Rudy leaned back. He folded his arms as he looked at the machine up and down. He narrowed his eyes softly as he studied the machine. After a few moments, he said, "Other than messing with zoners' minds, I'm not sure what else it does. But with all that on there... I have a feeling that the signal is just one of this machine's functions."

"This is one strange-looking machine, I'll tell you that." Mint said. "I wonder what else it can even do." He stared from the machine, and then to his friends. "And who would build such a thing?"

"That's what we're going to find out." Rudy's voice was filled with confidence and determination.

Penny nodded in agreement. "I'm sure if we look close enough at the machine, we'll figure it out." She took a few steps closer, giving another up and down look at the strange contraption. "I'll try to see if I can figure out what this thing does."

Penny wasn't sure if she'd succeed. She had never seen something like this before, and neither have her friends. But she was the one with the most knowledge of stuff like this. Putting things together, making them do stuff. Sure, Rudy could draw machines and make them work, but Penny knew how to do the same thing without drawing them. She understood the hidden mechanics behind it. If she looked closely enough at this, perhaps she could figure it out. She knew it would be difficult, and that she may never find out. Still, she had to try. They had to know what this does before they could discuss how to handle it properly. With the culprit away, this was their one chance.

She moved closer to the machine. She stopped when she was right in front if it. She stared at it intently, looking at it up and down, examining it. She looked at its features, the way it curved and came to a sharp point here or there. After a few moments, she began to circle it, eyeing it intently.

The machine looked like a hybrid of sorts. Just as Snap described, it appeared to be a large juicer-like thing of some kind. There was a large opening at the top, mostly clear, but still hard to see inside of it. The cylinder was attached to the machine itself, and not far from it, near where there appeared to be a small opening of some kind, she could see a metal box...well kind of. It looked more like a partial box, rectangular shaped and missing the top side.

In addition to this, she could see some buttons and diods decorating the front. There was a panel that jetted it from the dirt cylinder, along with some kind of lever. The machine almost looked steampunk in style. Retro, and yet futuristic. It struck a sense of fear in her, but also awe as well. It made the machine look even more mysterious, making her want to know more about what it actually does.

She kept circling it, trying to figure out some kind of function. She could feel the eyes of her friends on her, waiting for her to come up with something. She didn't want to disappoint them. She wanted to come up with some kind of answer to this. There had to be something...

The thing looked like a juicer, but she couldn't detect any signs of fruit or veggies in it. There were no vegetable stains, nor did she smell anything sweet coming from the machine. Also, the opening to it seemed a little too large to be for juicing. She had seen juicers before, and the openings weren't shaped like this, or this large. It was too...broad and flat-looking. And since when did a juicer need a thick rubbery rim like this?

The metal tray was rather curious as well. This couldn't be a juicer. The tray wasn't the right type for juice. It could easily spill over onto the ground, unless the person who made the machine made frequent changes. That would be pretty inconvenient. She could see this used for something thicker, but...then it couldn't be juice.

But it was obvious this thing was used for something. She could smell something strong in the air. She lifted up her head and gave a few sniffs. The smell was...familiar. There was a horrible familiarity with it, like she had detected something like this before. The smell just got stronger as she moved towards the metal tray. She peered closely to it, and then she noticed something.

There was something sharp here. She didn't notice it at first. She had no doubt there was something sharp in the machine. Since it resembled a juicer, for it to have large blades inside would not surprise her. But for the opening tunnel, just behind the rubbery substance, to have something sharp there as well... It seemed a little excessive. And to her shock, there were sharp blades around the opening of the metal container.

Her mind sifted through many thoughts as she tried to figure out why there were blades in areas where she did not think was necessary. What would call for such excessive sharp instruments? In the location where they were, this was not a weapon. It was too inconvenient of a spot, and it would hardly be of any threat to anyone. So she could rule that out.

But if that wasn't it, then..why were there sharp blades in these areas?

And what was that smell? It was stronger now. It was...foul, and yet not so unfamiliar. Penny was certain she smelled something like this before. Nothing pleasant. The smell reminded her of something bad that happened. Something that had scarred her years ago.

She leaned in even closer. She could hear Mint and Rudy call to her, telling her to be careful. She did not answer them. She kept her eyes focused on the blades, looking at them closely. Through her nostrils, she could smell that odor in even greater detail now. Her eyes widened slightly as she finally recognized it.

It smelled...almost like... like what she smelled when she found Mint on the ground after his leg had been chopped off by Skrawl. The image was still burned in her mind. She could never forget it. Mint laying motionless on the ground, a pool of blood underneath him, his leg stub wrapped up from when Rudy tried to stop the bleeding...

Even to this day, she could remember the smell of blood, the smell of infection that began to wreak havoc on Mint's leg. It was faint, but she could still remember it. She and Rudy both had been quite shaken up from the experience. Mint suffered as well, but Penny was glad he was knocked out most of the time so he didn't have to see his injuries for long.

But..why would that smell be here? Why would she smell blood and..death..on here? Why was the smell stronger as she moved her head closer to the blades? She froze. She knew the answer. There was only one reason why she'd smell something like that here. She shifted her eyes, trying to locate something. And when she did, she felt her heart freeze into ice.

Flesh...

There was flesh here..

Against the blades, small pieces of flesh clung to them.

Penny gagged, putting a hand over her mouth. With bulging eyes, holding her stomach, she backed off. She stifled the urge to scream. She fought back against the rapidly growing nausea in her stomach. She thought she heard her friends speak, but at the moment, all she was aware of was the flesh.

This machine...it was being used for murder. This wasn't meat from a grocery store. This meat was from a fresh corpse that had been dropped in. The blood smell gave that away. This machine...it was a slaughter machine...

She felt like she was going to throw up. She fought it back the best she could. She held onto her stomach, trying to control herself. She wasn't aware of Rudy getting close behind her, calling out her name. She stared long and hard at the machine, her eyes wide in horror. She dropped down onto her knees in front of the machine. She steadied herself with one hand, her other still cradling her stomach. She started to wrench and, before she knew it, her stomach contents were emptied on the ground.

"Penny! What's wrong?!" Mint's voice cried out.

Rudy gripped Penny by her shoulders. He stared down at her, and called out with concern. "Penny! Are you all right?"

Penny vomited for a few seconds, and wiped her mouth. She ignored the foul stench eminating from her own stomach contents. The sight of it didn't bother her as much as her horrific discovery did. She took in a few gasps of air before she turned to her friends.

"M-Meat..."

"What..?" Rudy whispered. He and Mint looked at Penny in horrified silence, waiting for her to continue.

"There's meat on the blades..." Penny wrenched, nearly throwing up again. She managed to resettle her stomach, rubbing it gently. "This ma-machine... is being used to...kill zoners.." She took in a couple more swift air intakes. She turned her head, notiing the horrified expression on Rudy's face. She didn't doubt that Mint had a similar expression as well. "I-It's a meat g-grinder..."

This news sent shockwaves through her friends. As she managed to climb up to her feet, she could see the horrified looks in their faces. Mint and Rudy exchanged looks of terror and disgust with each other. The three friends remained quiet, the revelation of their discovery sweeping through their heads. Cold chills moved through them as their shocked minds tried to comprehend what they had just discovered.

If they weren't certain if the culprit had malicious intent before, this certainly confirmed it. The machine was being used to kill zoners. This machine...this awful machine... It was created by a monster. What kind of sick, twisted mind would think of such a thing...?

"That's...that's why it was messing with the machines." Rudy said. He gulped nervously. "The..the culprit was trying to weaken them.. s-so they c-could.." He couldn't finish, but they all knew what he was trying to say.

A bolt of ice shot through their veins at this realization. If the culprit had been murdering zoners, then they would need to find a way to keep themselves from getting caught. Although ChalkZone City was huge, if just one zoner went missing, word would spread quickly. The zoners would be on the look out, and the culprit would have gotten caught.

This machine...it must be how the culprit escaped capture.

The slaughter machine had that spear-thing, the antenna..that had been sending out signals all over the city. It was messing with the zoners' minds, making them act differently. It was preventing the police from doing their jobs. It caused those zoners before to attack them. It prevented them from knowing about the signals prior.

And the hospital equipment.. The culprit was obviously going after the sick, weak, and injured. They were clearly cowards, going after those who couldn't fight back. That was why the hospital security was tampered with; so the culprit could sneak in and take away some patients to be turned into packaged meat. That was why the most common targets were the weakest patients. Not much of a fight to give. The realization of this filled the three children with disgust and anger.

Who would target innocent zoners like that? Who would deliberately go after zoners who couldn't fight back? How much of a coward did the culprit have to be to snatch away someone from a hospital bed, away from the equipment that was saving them, and then stuff their ill or injured bodies into this dreaded machine and slaughter them?

Rudy formed fists with his hands. His body shook with tremendous emotion. His teeth were bared, and there was a blazing effect in his eyes. Mint and Penny remained quiet, watching him in quiet sympathy.

"That...that monster...!" Rudy snarled. He slammed a fist against the nearest shelf. There was a slight reverberation, making Mint cringe and Penny to take a step back. Rudy let out a few low growls, his eyes darkened in shadow as he lowered his head. "When I find out who is responsible... I'm going to...!"

Penny's eyes widened. Her heart pounded against her chest. She rushed forward and she grabbed onto Rudy's arm. He didn't look at her, his body still quivering in anger. "Rudy! Please! You have to calm down!" Rudy looked over at her. She gasped as she saw just how wild they looked. "We'll stop the culprit, but we can't allow anger to rule our minds. I'm just as angry as you are, but if we let anger gain too much control.." She placed a hand against herself. "Then we lose control."

Mint hobbled over slowly. "Remember what happened recently, when I lost my temper and attacked that doctor?" Mint winced at this. Then shame filled his expression, and Penny could have sworn she saw a faint hint of tears in his eyes. "...and that temple years ago..."

Penny's heart twisted. She knew exactly what Mint was talking about. She remembered that incident all too well. It was fresh on her mind. The screams...oh gawd the screams...

"I lost my temper back then, too. I attacked Snap. I..I almost killed him.." Mint closed his eyes. A few tears strolled down his cheeks. He lifted up his head, looking back down at Rudy. "Please, don't make the same mistakes I made. Calm yourself, before you do something that you will live to regret."

Rudy took in a few deep breaths. His glare shifted towards Mint, then back to Penny before he looked away. He pressed his head against the shelf, leaning against it so hard that they were certain it was going to leave a mark. He shut his eyes, taking in raspy breaths, and it sounded like he was getting ready to scream.

Then, suddenly, he slouched. His body loosened, becoming so limp that he nearly fell to the ground. He grabbed onto the shelf to keep himself from falling down. There was something wet and slick on his face, and Penny realized it was tears. Rudy was crying. At this realization, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Rudy didn't return the hug, and just gave a few soft cries. After a few seconds, Penny let go of him.

Rudy kept his head low for several seconds. He then looked at his two friends. They watched him with great concern. Rudy bit his lip, and gave a shaky, faint smile. "Th-Thanks.. I needed that..." He whispered.

Penny smiled. "No problem, Rudy."

Rudy's smile broadened a little. He then frowned again, glaring at the machine. He snarled briefly before looking back at Penny and Mint. "Come on. We should get rid of this thing before the culprit comes back."

"How?" Mint asked. He paused, thinking for a moment. "Well I do recall Snap saying he knocked a shelf onto it..." He looked back at the others. "But we don't know if that will work this time. The culprit might have done something to make sure history wouldn't repeat."

"That's true..but we've got to try." Rudy looked over at the nearest shelf. There were several items on it, mostly boxes. He narrowed his eyes and turned his attention to Penny. "Come on. Help me get this down."

Wordlessly, the two children went over to the shelf. They took position on both ends. Gripping the metal bars, they began to push. Mint began to hobble away, not wanting to be anywhere near the machine when the shelf landed on it. Rudy and Penny pushed as hard as they could, not wanting to let go or give up. They pushed with all their might, attempting to make the shelf off balance.

But no matter how hard they pushed, the shelf wasn't budging. This shelf wasn't as light as how Snap described it, making them wonder if the culprit got newer, better, heavier shelves to prevent something like that from happening again. After a few seconds, they stopped and wiped their brows.

"This..is going to be harder than I thought.." Breathed Rudy.

Penny nodded her head in agreement. She took a few steps back, looking at the shelf up and down. She tried to find where the weak point could be. They had to figure out a way to knock over this machine.

It would be the perfect way to draw out the culprit. Surely they would hear the sound of the explosion, and come back to see what was happening. They would be able to find out who was behind those murders, behind what was happening to Snap, behind that blasted tumor, and they could take the appropriate steps to arrest them. The culprit would have no place to hide. They would stand no chance against two creators, and even in his current state, Mint could draw something to fight back with.

Then, as something came to her mind, she said, "Maybe we could..."

Mint's terrified voice cut her off. "It's too late..." Steadying himself with his crutches, he raised one of his forearms partway, pointing a shaky finger in one direction. "Look..."

Rudy and Penny looked behind them. Their eyes widened in horror when they saw there was a shadow moving along the wall. They could hear the sound of footsteps. Someone was fast approaching this room, and from the sound of it, there was more than one. This realization horrified the trio and they immediately rushed to find a place to hide.

Mint hobbled away as quickly as he could. But it was clear to them that he would not be able to hide in time. Rudy and Penny grabbed onto Mint and helped move him away faster. They got around behind one of the shelves. They made sure they were all the way behind it before they let go of Mint.

They remained there for several seconds. They could hear talking, but it was so faint, they could barely make out what was being said. They kept themselves pressed against the shelf, this one having a metal back much to their relief, providing a way to hide from what they knew was the culprit. The footsteps came closer, causing their hearts to pound against their chests.

Rudy swallowed and, in a clear attempt to be brave, moved towards the edge. Penny whispered loudly to him, trying to call him back. He just looked back at her, giving a small smile. Penny looked back at Mint, and then towards Rudy. She watched as he looked around the edge.

Although she didn't want to do it, she wanted to know who and what they were going to be up against. She gave Mint a look that told him to stay put, that she'd be back, and then she rushed quietly over to where Rudy was. She took position beside him. She bent her body to the side, looking over Rudy's shoulder, and soon she could see the shadow moving, covering the ground. She stood there and waited.

The shadow started to distort, and she knew this meant that the culprit was getting closer. As they did, the voice started to become, ever so slowly, more distinct. At first, the voice was too distorted to really tell who it belonged to. But after a few seconds, the voice, as they realized was split into two, became easier to understand. And soon they could make out the words.

"No please don't do this! I'm sorry!"

"Too late for apologies! Just shut up and come with me!"

Those voices... They were still a little echoey for Penny to recognize who they were, but they did still sound familiar. The first voice was male, clearly panicked. The second one was female, and she sounded pissed off. From that, it was easy for her and her friends to determine that the culprit was female. Of their tiny list of suspects, two had been female. So that crossed off Dr. Gelcro.

There was only two left: Mosaic...and Sandra.

Penny knew if they waited here long enough, they would get to find out which one it was. Or if it was someone else entirely.

They waited and watched as the shadow came closer. The male voice continued to plead, and they could hear thumps and scrapes. They guessed that the male zoner was trying to escape. The female zoner made a comment or two, but she mostly kept quiet. The silence seemed to indicate that she was too angry to carry off a coherent conversation with the zoner.

"You must be punished." Came the female voice. Rudy, Penny, and Mint, who had limped over to watch, looked on with wide eyes. "But don't worry. You will not...go to waste..."

That voice... So much clearer now. Their eyes widened at this. There was no mistakening it. As the figure stepped into the light, they already knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

It was Sandra...

Despite the fact that they already had suspicions of her, the realization that it had been Sandra all along...it felt like a freight train struck them in the head. The sudden realization of what this meant, all that had been going on, it weighed down on them quickly. It felt as though something inside them broke. They...they couldn't believe that... Their blood began to burn with intense betrayal and hurt.

All those times of Sandra helping them.. It had all been a lie. Those times when she was comforting Snap...it was a lie. She had been hiding her true intentions. She was the one who caused all of this. She was the one who framed Snap. She was the one who...

The three children had to settle down their minds the best they could, had to do whatever they could to keep their blood from boiling over. Although it was tempting to rush out and confront Sandra, they knew that doing so too fast without a plan would result in disaster.

But before they could began to quietly plot, the male voice let out a scream of terror. They looked over and, to their horror, they recognized the zoner as Doofus Rudy.

"No! Please!" Doofus Rudy called out, pulling and tugging in an attempt to free himself.

Sandra growled, tightening her grip on his arm. "Oh shut up. Where's your dignity?" She paused, and then she grinned. "Oh that's right. You don't have any..."

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. He was about to rush forward, but Penny grabbed his shoulder and shook her head. They couldn't risk a frontal confrontation, not while Sandra still had Doofus Rudy in her clutches. Though their minds were still reeling from this horrific discovery, they needed to figure out some kind of plan before they took action.

Penny watched as Sandra dragged Doofus Rudy along the shelves. She witnessed her be careless, not paying attention if she caused the zoner to trip or anything. Every once in a while, Sandra would yank on Doofus Rudy hard, making the poor zoner cry out. The sight of this made Penny's blood boil. Sure Doofus Rudy was a pain, but he didn't deserve this...

She knew they had to take action soon. She had no idea what Sandra planned on doing with Doofus Rudy. But she knew it was nothing good. She lowered herself, a cautious posture, and moved forward a tad. Sandra didn't see her, the zoner's back turned to her. Penny watched her silently, wondering what she was going to do.

"You are one slippery little guy, I'll give you that." Sandra said. She ignored the terrified zoner pounding against her arm. "You almost got away. But you see... you weren't clever enough to outsmart me for long." She stopped walking. She yanked Doofus Rudy towards her, putting her muzzle close to his face. "I would have found you sooner or later."

Doofus Rudy gritted his teeth in fear, cringing away. "I-I'm sorry! Please...you don't have to d-d-do this!"

Sandra stared at him. Her eyes narrowed slowly. "You're sorry? Well it's kind of late for that, isn't it...?" She flashed her sharp teeth, lowering her head and staring at him with her crimson eyes. "You should have been more careful, Doofus Rudy. You shouldn't have chucked that chalk into my eye like that."

Doofus Rudy's face was stained with tears. "I'm sorry! Please!"

"Too late." Sandra growled. "You already know too much. Now come along. Let's get this over with..."

To Penny's horror, Sandra was dragging Doofus Rudy towards the machine. Her heart pounded in her chest. She looked over at Mint and Rudy. They looked as horrified and scared as she did. If they didn't act soon, Doofus Rudy was a goner.

"I'm sure that Doofus Penny will be glad to see you." Sandra said, a dark smile spread across her face. At this, Doofus Rudy's eyes widened in horror and his struggles increased in vigor. "And tell you what. I'll ensure that you suffer the same fate as she did. That way...you're still a match." She gave a short chuckle, grinning. "Aren't I so generous?"

Penny nearly gasped at this. It was Sandra who had killed Doofus Penny. Though they had already made that connection when they found out she was the one responsible, it was still a shock to get an indirect confession like this.

And now Doofus Rudy was going to suffer the same fate... Horror filled their hearts at this realization. They couldn't believe just how cruel Sandra was being right now. It was bad enough that she killed Doofus Penny, whom they knew was a close friend of Doofus Rudy. But did she have to taunt him like this? Did she have to kill him, too? What did the Doofi do to deserve this?

Yeah they were annoying. But that didn't mean they deserved to die. And what kind of pointless reason did she have in killing them? Whatever it was, they all knew it was no excuse. As they saw Doofus Rudy being dragged closer to the awful machine, they knew they had to act quickly.

"No..." Penny whispered softly. She turned to Rudy. "We've got to do something!"

Rudy glared over at Sandra. "Don't worry.. I won't let her get away with this..."

Penny watched as Rudy began to move forward. He was out in the open now. Penny and Mint looked on in horror, half-expecting Sandra to take notice. But the zoners' attention wasn't on him. Neither of them noticed the angered boy approaching them slowly.

Doofus Rudy was too busy struggling against Sandra's grip. He was terrified, crying, struggling. He kept trying to get free, desperate to survive. Sandra tightened her grip even more, making the zoner wince. Sandra was too busy sneering at Doofus Rudy and walking towards the machine to notice Rudy.

As Rudy approached, Penny held her breath. She hoped that Rudy knew what he was doing.

sss

Sandra growled softly as she continued to drag Doofus Rudy towards her machine. She winced as he bit her. She wanted to jerk her hand away, but she remained calm. The dull pain was pushed in the back of her head as she continued approaching the machine. Soon, this was all going to be over, and she could begin the next phase of her plan.

She was aware that Snap's trial was tomorrow. She had to be prepared for it. She couldn't afford any...distractions. She was well aware that Doofus Rudy could very easily ruin everything. He had seen too much. He had heard too much. If she let him go, then he was going to run all over ChalkZone City, screaming to the others what happened. Even if most zoners don't take him seriously, there would still be that handful that would, and her place would be found out and she'd be ruined.

She was not going to allow anyone to take away her secret method from her. She was not going to let any one zoner steal her way of obtaining meat. SHe won't tolerate copycats. She had very low tolerance for that.

This was something she had worked hard on. It had taken her a little while to realize her purpose in life. When she was first erased, she had struggled to find a purpose. Her creation was the result of two humans, she was certain. Two goals put in her head. Her brain fighting over what she was going to do... To find that middleground was very difficult, and she couldn't have done it without Snap.

Ever since she opened up that restaurant, ever since she figured out a way to bring in the most amount of satisfied customers, she had been very protective of her method. She did not want any other zoner to come up with this idea of hers. She wanted no competition.

And she would do whatever it took to ensure that this remained the case.

She glared down at Doofus Rudy. She snarled at him. She still had a dull ache in her left eye from where the chalk hit her. She was lucky that the damage wasn't more severe. The zoner had thrown that piece rather hard. It could have easily torn through the substance of her eye and render her blind there. She was glad it didn't, but the fact that this zoner had the gall to do such a thing burned her blood. She was going to make sure he couldn't do it again.

She had chased him for some time in ChalkZone City, but it was difficult doing so without drawing attention. She had to call off the attack and rethink her plan. It took her longer than she had hoped, over twenty four hours, before she decided on a method to deal with him.

She had changed the frequency on her machine. She decided to use the signal to her advantage. She made the zoners much more aggressive than usual, pumping them with uncomfortable feelings. With them so grumpy, they would hardly pay attention to her going after a zoner. And it might have doubled as a way of keeping Rudy, Penny, and Mint at bay. She couldn't let them ruin this. She still needed more time.

She resumed her chase on Doofus Rudy. She had to admit, he was more clever than she had imagined he would be. He had tried all he could to escape from her. He tried disguising his scent, hiding in locations she already checked, tried to lead her astray, but fortunately she had seen through his tricks. She was able to find him and now she has him in her grasp.

The zoner continued to struggle in her grip. Her feather fingers were wrapped around his elbow, locking his arm in place. He was using his free hand to pound against her arm, and he still attempted to bite her a few times. She ignored the pain, knowing that, any second, it was all going to be over.

She couldn't wait to finish him off. This little runt was getting to be quite the nuisance. She wasn't sure just what kind of purpose he was supposed to have. But soon, none of that would matter. Soon, he was going to serve a far better purpose.

He was going to be Snap's meal.

Sandra felt her heart sting at the thought of Snap. She was glad it was going to be over soon. She didn't want him to continue suffering for too much longer. She hoped and prayed that Snap has learned his lesson by the end, so that she can stop this madness. She wanted the promise to be fulfilled, so she could go back to the way things used to be.

As a way of making amends to him, she wanted to make him something special. She had heard him talk a few times about Doofus Rudy. He seemed to be mostly annoyed with him, but a part of him liked the zoner. That would make this meal ever so special. She was certain that Snap would enjoy Doofus Rudy's flesh. It must be so...succulent and juicy. The thought if it made her mouth water and she licked her lips.

She had thoughts of all kinds of dishes she could make with the meat of this terrified zoner. Soup? Some pasta dish? Maybe steak with some vegetables? She couldn't decide yet, but no matter. She had plenty of time to think.

She saw how terrified he was. She could smell his fear, making her salivate even more. She hoped he would keep this up. Fear always made the meat taste even better. There was so little time that she had between killing a frightened zoner, obtaining their meat, and cooking it before the flavor would run out. But when she would succeed, the results were amazing. It was incredible how much a few extra chemicals can alter the flavor, giving it a distinction that couldn't be mimicked even with all the spices in the world.

All she had to do to keep this up is make sure Doofus Rudy remained scared. The more terrified he was, the better his meat was going to taste, and the more that it would sell. She smiled. This task was going to be so easy. With how much the zoner was struggling, it would be impossible for him to calm down in time before she would...

Suddenly, something slammed against her. It was somewhat heavy, and caused a bit of an ache when it collided with the back of her head. She jerked forward, stumbling, and quickly regained her balance.

To her shock, she had lost her grip on Doofus Rudy. The zoner was attempting to make a run for it. Sandra hissed at this and she jumped forward, using her tail to trip him up. The zoner let out a cry as he slammed into the ground. She seized him by his leg and pulled him up. The zoner dangled upside down, letting out a few cries of fear, begging her to let him go. She growled at this and looked around.

"I know someone is in here!" Sandra called out. When she found out what sorry zoner dared to trespass and steal her secret, she was going to make them pay. Her red eyes darted left and right. "Come on out!"

Sandra heard footsteps, and she could detect some kind of scent in the air. She lifted up her head, sniffing a couple of times. The smell seemed so familiar, but her angered mind could barely register it. Right now, the only thing on her mind was making the intruder pay.

"Sandra, stop this!"

Sandra's eyes widened in shock. All anger and rage immediately washed away. She lowered the upside down, trembling zoner slightly as her muscles began to relax. She knew that voice anywhere. There was only one person it belonged to.

But...but how...? How could they have..?

After a few seconds of being frozen in surprise, the dragon zoner turned her head slowly. Her ears raised up, ready to pick any sound that would come forth from this intruder. Her eyes scanned the room for who had called out to her, and it didn't take her long to find him.

Her eyes widened in shock, still unable to believe what she was seeing. She opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to get the words out. After a few failed attempts, she finally managed to speak in a cracked, squeaky voice.

"R-R-Rudy T-Tabootie.." Sandra said, her voice laced in fear. "Wh-What are you doing here...?"


	28. A Vile Person

It isn't possible to never tell the truth. But the reality is I'm getting away with murder!

-Getting Away With Murder, Papa Roach

sss

Rudy glared out at the scene before him. He could feel the dark clouds of anger swirling all around his head, almost empowering. His body shook as the emotion wracked a storm through him. At long last, he was finally face to face with the zoner that had caused him and his friends so much grief lately. The zoner single-handedly responsible for the city turning against Snap, for Snap's arrest, for everything. A zoner he and the others thought they could trust.

Sandra.

The blue dragon stood not far from him. She hadn't moved a muscle yet, nor did she attempt to speak. The seconds that passed between his shouts and her shaken question seemed longer than they really were. Her ears were dipped downward, like a sad puppy. Her wide eyes stared at him. He could see the fear radiating from her eyes. He knew why she looked that way.

It was because, this time, she had been caught red-handed. She could not deny it anymore. She could not lie this time.

For in her clutches, she held Doofus Rudy. Even if her earlier words hadn't given it away, her actions did. This was not a misunderstanding of any kind. This was not her simply showing anger to Doofus Rudy. No, he could see the murderous intent in her eyes, the way she was dragging him over the dreaded machine, clearly intending to use it.

He wouldn't let her. She was not going to allow her to hurt another zoner. Not ever again. He would save Doofus Rudy from this horrible fate, and then get Sandra arrested. She could not stand against a creator, especially not two, or three. She was outmatched.

Sandra continued staring at him for several more seconds. Her mouth hung partially open as she took in quick breaths. She glanced down at Doofus Rudy, and then back at Rudy himself. She looked like she was trying to speak, but any attempt failed.

Rudy decided to save her the trouble.

"You let him go! Release your grip on him! He didn't do anything wrong!" Rudy demanded. He took a step forward. He noticed the mild flinch in Sandra's expression. "You have no right to do this! Release him. Now!"

Sandra looked from him, to the zoner, and back again. She took a few steps back, pulling Doofus Rudy with her. The smaller zoner seemed to comply, but mostly out of confusion and uncertainty. Rudy locked eyes with his zoner counterpart. He could see the pleading look. Rudy's expression changed in a way to let the zoner know that he promised to get him out of there. He turned to glare back at Sandra.

The sky blue dragon looked left and right. Her ears pricked up. It was obvious she was trying to detect if there was anyone else here. Although he could see some fear flashing in her eyes, he couldn't tell if she figured out Penny and Mint were close by. She looked back at Rudy and swallowed nervously.

Then she attempted to speak.

"Th-This isn't... Y-You must understand... I..." Sandra stammered, her voice having a crack in it.

Rudy growled at this. "We trusted you! We thought you were an ally! But we find out that you...you..." He pointed at the machine. He stared at it, his eyes wide in anger, and, baring his teeth, he looked back at Sandra. "How the fuck could you do such a thing?!"

Sandra's breathing quickened. "I-I am doing what is right! Please... i-i-if you let me explain. you'll..."

"Doing what's right?! Is that what you call it?!" Rudy practically exploded at this. Sandra let out a whimper and cringed back, her ears flattening even more. He must be some spectacle to see, his face flushed warm red in anger. But at the moment, he hardly cared. "You think murdering an innocent zoner is doing the the right thing?!"

Sandra looked left and right. She lowered her head slightly. "Well...I..."

"And what of Snap?!" Rudy felt his blood blazing at the memories of what was going on with Snap lately. "Why are you doing this to him? What the fuck did he do to you?! All he did was help you!" Rudy ignored the scratchiness of his throat as he let out his rage against the zoner. "And you..." He gripped his head, trying to cope with the burning sensation sweeping through it, threatening to burn his scalp. "And this is how you repay him?!"

Sandra took in a few quick breaths. She took a few steps back. She did not let go of Doofus Rudy. She glanced down at him. She bit her lip. She turned back to Rudy. There was an almost pleading expression in her eyes. But Rudy didn't care. He knew she was just attempting to hide her true nature.

But this facade won't last for long. Sooner or later, it would be broken, and then they'd see just what kind of person Sandra really was.

"I didn't want to hurt him..." Sandra spoke softly. "I wanted to stop..."

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Do you really think I believe that?!"

"I-I-It's true.. I swear!" Sandra's voice became higher pitched as she seemed to grow more desperate. She stared at Rudy as if she thought he was going to run right through her. "You've got to believe me!"

"Believe you?!"

Rudy, Sandra, and Doofus Rudy turned their heads to see Penny walking out from behind the shelf. Rudy stared at her, some surprise registering in his otherwise rage-filled face. He waited to see if Mint was coming, but he realized that he was staying behind, likely as a trump card.

Penny took position beside Rudy. She turned to face Sandra. At Penny's appearance, Sandra looked even more terrified. She knew she had been caught. She knew that she stood no chance against two creators. They had her right where they wanted her. Together, they would ensure that Sandra never hurt anyone ever again.

Penny had a disgusted look on her face. Her lip was curled up, scowling. "We believed you before! We believed you when you were trying to help Snap! We believed you when you tried to give us information we could use to find the culprit!" She raised up her hands, her fingers curved inward. Her body trembled, quaking with more emotion than she ever had to endure. "You lied to us! It was you all along! You were the one who hurt our friend! You were the one who turned almost all of ChalkZone City against him!You are the reason why he is being put on death row!"

Penny's breathing was ragged, sucking through her teeth. Rudy looked at her sympathetically. He had never seen her this angry before. She was usually calmer than this. But the knowledge of the full depth of what Sandra had been doing lately broke something inside of her.

The girl glared intensely at Sandra before shoving a finger towards her. Speaking through clenched teeth, she said, "And you fucking dare try to tell us that you didn't want to do it?! If you didn't want to, you wouldn't have done it! If you cared, you wouldn't have participated in this heinous crime! Tell me, Sandra, after all you've done, why the fuck should we believe anything you say?!"

Penny's voice was so loud that there was a slight echo reverberating off the walls. Sandra winced at this, her ears twitching at the echo. As it vanished, an uncomfortable silence reigned down on them, filling the room with a high level of tension, so thick they thought they could cut it with a knife.

Rudy looked at Penny, noting the way she was breathing heavily. Anger was written quite clearly on her face, more so than what was on his. Rudy's expression softened ever so slightly as he looked at her. He had known of the saying of beware the nice ones, and now, seeing how Penny had reacted, he could definitely say that's true.

Not that he blamed her at all. Sandra was a truly disgusting zoner. She had orchestrated this whole scheme on her own free will, hurting Snap, and then had the gall to pretend she was his friend. She pretended to help. She had lied to them all.

There were very few things in life that could make Rudy boil over. And lying was one of them. True, he, Mint, and Penny lied to their parents all the time, but it was just to keep ChalkZone safe. They weren't intended to harm. Sandra however..she was a malicious liar. Her lies intended to do harm. And that rattled him and his friends to their core.

He wondered, briefly, how Snap was going to react to the news. He was going to be heartbroken to find out that a zoner he had helped was the one responsible for his pain. He had seemed to like Sandra, and never had a problem with her. It was going to be quite nerve wracking for him to find out. It was not going to be easy news to deliver. But Rudy would still do it. Unlike Sandra, he was not going to lie to him about this. Snap deserved to know who had been the cause of his pain all this time, the true culprit of the murder of all those innocent zoners.

Rudy turned his attention back to Sandra. The longer he stared at her, the angrier he felt. He growled softly, clenching his teeth tightly. He was still shaken up by this recent discovery. Memory upon memory of this zoner entered his mind, and each time he thought of times when she acted genuinely helpful, he could feel his blood heating up. She was such a monster... He couldn't believe that she would do something like this.

"How could you...?" Rudy spoke, cutting through the tension of the silence. Sandra looked at him sideways, her one terrified pupil staring straight at him. "How could you lie to us all this time? How could you hurt our friend, when he did nothing but help you?" There was one question ringing through his mind. One question he had the strongest desire to know. "Just...why...?"

"Why...? You want to know why?" Sandra asked, her voice gaining a bit more volume. She looked at Rudy and Penny, who glared back at her, nodding their heads. Sandra remained quiet for a few seconds. Then she said, "Okay..I'll tell you.."

Rudy and Penny glared at her, but said nothing. They waited for her to continue. They waited to hear just what kind of excuse she was going to pull out of her tail.

Sandra turned her head, looking at her machine. She said, "You see, I made this thing to help me with my business. I need it. It's been my key to success. So when I found it destroyed, well, you can understand why I'd be upset." Keeping her head in that posture, the eye facing them turned its pupil at them. "I had promised to make whoever done that to my machine pay for what they did. I needed to ensure there wouldn't be a repeat incident." She turned her head over her shoulder, both her red eyes staring at them. "You can very well imagine how shocked and hurt I was when I found out Snap was the one who did it." She lowered her head, her eyes filling with sorrow. "I simply could not believe that he'd do such a thing. But accident or not, it was too late."

"What are you talking about..?" Penny growled.

"Nothing made you do anything of this!" Rudy called out.

"That's where you're wrong." Sandra closed her eyes. Her expression softened up. "You see, I had already made the promise. And promises aren't meant to be broken." She opened her eyes and stared at them. "I would be tainting the sanctity of the promise if I didn't fulfill it. Regardless of how I felt, I did what I knew was necessary. The promise cannot be broken, and Snap cannot be allowed to interfere with me again."

"You're a monster!" Rudy snarled at her. "How could you do that?!"

Sandra stared at him, looking a bit calm, though Rudy could still see the fear in her eyes. "I never wanted to do it. I only did so because I made a promise. Once a promise is made, it can never be broken." She took a step forward, still hanging onto Doofus Rudy, who at this point, had gone silent in curiosity and confusion. "Besides, I was going to let him go." She held up her free hand in gesture. "I was going to confess the truth sooner or later, and set things right. Then things would have gone back to the way they were."

"You honestly believe that?!" Rudy snapped, taking a step towards the dragon. "Do you really think that the zoners would have just washed this down their backs as if it were nothing?!"

Sandra stared at him, not saying a word. She looked a bit surprised by his outburst, as if she thought he had no reason to be upset. This angered him and Penny further.

Rudy shouted, "How fucking dare you! How dare you cause ChalkZone City so much pain, and then act like things would just shift back to normal like nothing happened! Do you have any idea of the pain and misery you caused?! Do you have any idea how many zoners are suffering because of you?!"

Sandra blinked her eyes a few times. Then, much to their surprise, she smiled. Not a malicious one, but a smile that seemed more friendly and nervous than anything. "They would have understood." Rudy and Penny widened their eyes in shock at this. "They would understand I was only trying to keep a promise. They would understand that the zoners who perished died for a good cause." She turned her head to the side as her smile broadened more. "And Snap would understand I was just trying to do the right thing. He would not stay angry at me. We would have been able to move on, and then one day..." She tilted her head upwards, looking up towards the ceiling. She held her hand up, still smiling. "..we'd look back on this day and laugh."

This statement caused a wave of ice to move through Rudy and Penny, and they were certain Mint felt it as well. It stunned them to the core. Their eyes went wide, mouth dropping open. For a few seconds, they felt numb, their minds trying to process what Sandra had just told them. It took a few seconds before the anger returned.

Was Sandra serious? Did she really think that she could get away with this? Did she honestly believe that Snap would treat this day as just any other? That he'd ignore the very real tragedy that gripped ChalkZone? How could Sandra be so stupid and ignorant? How coud she have a thought that was so erroneous, disregarding the reality that faced them all?

They tried their best to keep control of their anger. They tried not to lunge at Sandra, a very tempting thing right about now. They had to keep control of themselves. They had to remain where they were, for if they attacked her, they would be no better than her.

They needed to trap her, and send her off to jail, where she belonged. Permanently as well. She was too dangerous to keep on the streets. She clearly had a very flawed view of the world, an ignorant logic that she followed that made her way too unpredictable to be around. She had to be locked up before her twisted view of how the world works caused another zoner to get hurt.

Rudy took in a deep breath, keeping his anger back the best he could. He was going to screw things up if he allowed it to control him. He looked over at Penny, gesturing for her to also gain control over her anger. He looked back at Sandra, his eyes narrowed. Before he could open his mouth, he felt a brief flash of rage surge up through him. He stiffened, letting it pass, and then he began to speak.

"Do you honestly believe that?" Rudy asked through barely controlled anger. "Do you really believe that things would go like that?"

Sandra's smile faded slightly. She paused for a moment, and then gave an affirmative nod. "Yeah..I do. That's the way the world works, doesn't it?" She pulled her head back, lowering her snout. "I mean, why would promises exist if they could be broken?"

"It happens all the time." Penny said dryly.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "Then they have destroyed the sacredness that is the promise. Whoever broke those lies should be killed on sight..." Her voice was a low growl.

Rudy widened his eyes. "So you think you would have been killed if you hadn't kept this...this promise...?"

Sandra smiled again, any sign of anger from before vanishing. "I don't think. I know." She made a gesture with her hand. "After all, there is nothing more valuable than a promise. Anyone who doesn't follow the rules should be executed. Such people do not belong in this world."

Rudy glared at the dragon. "So...so you think that hurting Snap was worth keeping this..this promise of yours?"

Sandra didn't hesitate to answer. With a broader smile, she said, "Absolutely."

Rudy widened his eyes at this confession. Then they narrowed dangerously. Sandra's expression took on that of fear and she cringed back. Rudy's blood boiled over. It took a gentle touch from Penny to knock him back to his senses before he did anything he might regret. He took in a few breaths, trying to cool himself down. "You...you're such a fool..."

Sandra looked taken aback by this statement. "What..what do you mean...?"

Sandra trying to feign innocense made Rudy grind his teeth. "You hurt my friend even though he did nothing to you! He didn't mean to ruin your precious machinery! He wasn't trying to ruin your business! All he ever did to you was try to be a friend, and this is how you treat him? By pushing him in the back of a promise?! You're disgusting!"

Penny joined in. "You really think that Snap is going to keep being friends with you after he finds this out?" Penny spread her arms outward. "He wouldn't want to be anywhere near you after he finds out about this!"

Rudy took a step forward. He formed fists with his hands, shaking them. "Snap wouldn't even dream of being your friend after he learns that you are the one who hurt him!"

"Well I did think of not telling him.." Sandra started to say.

Rudy didn't let her finish. "You were going to lie to him again?! Oh I'm not surprised!"

Sandra placed her hand against her armored chest, gritting her teeth nervously. "Please..try to be reasonable..."

"Reasonable?!" Rudy snarled. "How dare you..." He lowered his head, glaring at her in the eyes. "How dare you try to tell us to be reasonable when you.." He jabbed a finger in her direction. "...you were the one who thinks that keeping a promise is so important that even friends are less valuable and are to be shoved under the rug!"

"N-Now..I never said that friends weren't important..." Sandra stammered, raising up her hand as she tried to defend herself. "I do like Snap! I'm being honest here! I don't like hurting him! I still see him as a friend!"

"So you think that friends are important?" Rudy asked, tilting his head to one side. "You have an awfully funny way of showing that..."

Penny moved forward so that she was next to Rudy again. "You are no friend, Sandra." She folded her arms against herself, her face etching in the clear message of anger. "You are a vile person, the most disgusting monster we have ever met. To try to act like you are doing nothing wrong..." She closed her eyes, letting her body shiver once in anger. "At least Skrawl is honest about wanting to hurt someone..."

Sandra cringed as she saw Rudy reach for his magic chalk. "What are you going to do...?"

"We are locking you up." Rudy said. He held up his magic chalk, the tip of it glittering. "You will be sent to jail where you will have no chance of getting out. People like you don't deserve to be on the streets."

"B-But my restaurant..." Sandra started to say.

"It will be taken down, or someone else will take it over." Penny said. "Besides, it's just a restaurant. It can be replaced. Lives cannot." She glared intently at Sandra. "You must pay the price for your crimes, Sandra."

Rudy nodded. "Now hold still. You have no chance against two creators." At this, Penny held up her magic chalk. "So just make it easier on yourself and surrender..."

Sandra took a step back. Her wide eyes looked at them in desperation. "You..you're going to lock me up..just for holding a promise...?"

Rudy hesitated to answer right away. He wanted to tell her that it was her actions in keeping said promise that were sending her off to jail. But after he thought about it some more, he realized that it really was the promise that's making the decision. After all, it was her trying to keep the promise that led her to hurt Snap, to kill those zoners, to cause all this trouble.

If she hadn't abused the promise, if she had just realized that, sometimes, promises could be broken, then this wouldn't have happened. She chose to do this. The promise didn't make her. She cannot keep hiding like a coward behind her promise. It was time that she faced the consequences of her actions.

Rudy gave an affirmative nod. "Yes." A quick answer, short and to the point.

Sandra's mouth went agape as her eyes bulged open. She stared at Rudy in shock for a few seconds, and then her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And you think that Snap wouldn't understand?"

"He would hate you for what you've done." Rudy said, this time not hesitating.

Sandra's eyes narrowed further and she bared her teeth. A low growl escaped her throat as her ears twitched. "How dare you.."

Rudy simply glared back. He raised up his magic chalk. "You are coming with us, Sandra."

Sandra's eyes flashed, something deeper than just anger appearing in them. She spoke lowly, her voice, for a brief moment, sounding more feral than anything Rudy has ever heard in his life. "Don't you dare raise your chalk at me..."

Rudy's eyes widened at this, but he did not allow Sandra's anger to scare him away. Although he and his friends weren't sure of just what she was capable of, he had no plans on running away. They were this close to taking care of her. They had her outnumbered. She stood no chance. Despite Sandra's angered expression, despite Doofus Rudy shaking his head, as if trying to say something, Rudy still advanced.

Moving his hand forward to begin to draw, he said, "We're sorry, Sandra. But you have given us no choice."

Doofus Rudy struggled in the zoner's grasp. "No! Stay back! She.."

Sandra covered Doofus Rudy's mouth, silencing him. She turned her attention back to Rudy. She lowered her head. The lips on her mouth curled up, exposing her sharp teeth. Her mouth stretched into a dark smile. Again she spoke in a low voice, but this one was tinged with something else, almost glee. "Lower your chalk..or I will make sure that you really do have no choices left..."

Although taken aback by Sandra speaking, yet again, in that gravelly, feral voice, Rudy did not listen to her. He knew she had to be stopped. Now was the only time they could do that. He raised up his magic chalk further, and soon began to draw a trap to use on Sandra.

As soon as he did, Sandra's eyes bulged open, her pupils shrinking into dots. Rudy barely had time to question this when he suddenly felt a horrific pain wrack up through his right arm. He released his grip on the magic chalk as he let out a scream.

"Rudy!" Penny cried out in horror.

Rudy dropped down onto his knees. He bent forward, his head nearly touching the ground. He cradled his arm to himself, feeling something rip through the muscle inside. Tears of pain flowed down his cheeks as he lifted up his head and looked over at Sandra.

Sandra had taken a step towards him. Her body was arched, her tail raised into the air, ticking side to side. Her face was contorted and twisted, a darkened, insane smile spreading across it. Her red eyes almost appeared to glow, boring through his. Her free hand moved out in front of her, forming a fist, the palm facing upwards. The triangle mark on her forehead was glowing, giving parts of her skin an eerie shine.

"Stop this! Please!" Penny pleaded with Sandra.

The dragon shot her a glare, and then turned her head to the side in an almost dramatic fashion. She spoke, her sharp teeth still exposed. "You two should have thought better than try to ruin my business.. You should have thought more before you decided to ruin the sanctity of a promise, or when you dare say that Snap would turn against me. If Snap cared at all, he'd understand..."

Penny's breathing quickened, panic clearly rising inside of her. "Please, Ms. Sandra! You have to stop this!"

Sandra lowered her head. "Why should I...?"

"You're making a big mistake!" Penny shouted.

"Oh? Am I...?" Sandra's eyes glinted. "Well I could rectify that. I could allow you to join."

Penny's eyes bulged. "N-No..that's not what I..."

Penny didn't get a chance to finish. She let out a scream as Sandra's powers got a hold of her as well. She clutched her leg and fell to the ground. Her body curved almost in a fetal position as she hugged her leg to her body. She started to cry in agony.

"Penny!" Rudy managed to say through his pain. He looked over at Sandra. "Let her go!" He begged.

"Oh I can't do that." Sandra said, a nastry grin spread across her face. "She was feeling left out, so I'm inviting her in. What kind of rude hostess would I be if I kicked her out now?"

Rudy tried to get up. He tried to do something, anything. But the horrific pain kept him on the ground. He looked over at Sandra in horror. He could see her insane grin, the terrified look on Doofus Rudy's face. Even though the Doofi weren't always the brightest, they did have enough sense to know when real peril was imminent, and it really showed here.

He looked over at Penny. She was holding her leg still, crying loudly in pain. She squirmed on the ground, trying to get away. The sight of it broke his heart. His body was tormented with the mental pain of his friend being hurt, and his own physical anguish. It was becoming too much to bear, and he could feel his mind start to get a little fuzzy.

Suddenly there was a scream, and he felt some relief when he could no longer feel Sandra's powers bearing down on him. He let out a groan of pain and pushed himself up from the ground. He assisted Penny to her feet. The two looked over to see what had caused the change.

To their shock, Doofus Rudy had bitten down on Sandra. Despite his fear, he still worked up the courage to fight back. His teeth sank into Sandra's hand, drawing a bit of blood. In this instance, they wondered if the scratches on her side were from a zoner she was tormenting fighting back.

Sandra's eyes bulged open, but soon they narrowed again as she glared down at Doofus Rudy. "And here I thought you wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like that again."

Sandra jerked her arm as hard as she could. Doofus Rudy was not able to keep up and he was tossed into the ground. Sandra let out a cry of pain as Doofus Rudy ended up inadvertantly tearing off a small piece of flesh with him. Blood dripped down the small wound on Sandra's arm. She looked at it, her eyes wide in shock, and then she snarled in Doofus Rudy's direction. The zoner looked up at her in fear, too terrified to speak.

Sandra lifted up her foot and grabbed him around his throat. She lifted him up, baring her teeth at him. She then pulled her leg back and threw him to the side. The zoner slammed against one of the shelves and slumped down onto the ground. He laid there, shivering and whimpering in fear. She then turned her attention to Rudy and Penny.

"If I were you..." Sandra said. "I would forget that this whole ordeal never happened. This is the only chance I'm giving you two. I can call this whole thing off and I can return you to normal." At this, Rudy felt a dull ache radiating from the arm that Sandra damaged. "But only if you promise to tell no one about this."

"H-How can you..." Came Penny's pained voice. "..expect us to..d-d-do that...?" A seethe and a whimper. "Wh-What about Snap? Do you think we would abandon him?"

"Snap? Oh don't worry about him!" Sandra waved a dismissive hand. "I'll let him go as soon as the lesson is complete, and everything will be fine." She leaned towards them. "I promise... And you know I never break promises."

Rudy glared at the zoner. He then glanced at Penny. The two of them silently wondered what they were going to do. Should they take the chance and listen to Sandra? Or should they take action?

If they go along with this, then Snap might be okay. If Sandra was true to her word, then she'd call the whole thing off soon, and she would stop tormenting the zoners. But if they continue to fight against her, she may end up killing them in the process, and she might go after Snap. There was a bit of conflict in their heads until they realized something.

Sandra wouldn't stop tormenting people. The machine of hers... the signal... she had been slaughtering zoners left and right. Even if she were true to her word and she let Snap go, what of the other zoners? They would get hurt, even die, at the claws of this monster.

In the end, they knew what their answer had to be.

"No." Rudy said simply.

Sandra widened her eyes at this declaration. For a few brief moments, she looked stunned that they would decline her offer. Then, in seconds, she looked offended, baring her sharp teeth at them. She formed fists with her hands, shaking them. "So...you want to make this difficult.." She twisted her head to the side dramatically. "Fine! Be that way!"

Rudy and Penny watched as Sandra walked back to where Doofus Rudy was. The zoner shivered harder as the dragon got closer. Rudy and Penny watched in horror at this, their hearts twisting and stomach churning.

"W-Wait...what are you doing?!" Rudy called out.

"Leave him alone!" Cried a horrified Penny.

Sandra smirked. "You already made up your minds. But perhaps I could coerce you a little. I'm good at that..."

Rudy widened his eyes at this. He recalled what Arno had told them. He wasn't supposed to sell that many white flame fireworks in one day. But Sandra had apparently coerced him into it. He had to wonder if they were about to witness her method in coercing people. The thought filled him with terror.

Sandra looked down at Doofus Rudy. Without turning her head, her eyes turned to face Rudy and Penny. She lifted up her hand, pointing it in Doofus Rudy's direction. Whether or not this was required for her powers to work was hardly on the children's minds, for seconds later, Doofus Rudy began to scream and he clutched his arm.

To the children's horror, Doofus Rudy's arm looked like it had already been damaged before. And now Sandra was causing more pain, and tearing apart whatever healing had taken place. Listening to the poor zoner's screams was absolutely heartbreaking. It was really shocking seeing this happy go lucky zoner, with not a care in a world, being reduced to a miserable pile of agony like this.

"Stop that!" Penny shouted at Sandra. "Please!"

Sandra smiled at Penny, but didn't bother to answer. Instead, she just kept on hurting Doofus Rudy, her ears twitching slightly as his screams but otherwise, showing no discomfort. She didn't look like she was going to stop any time soon, and as if to prove the point of that unspoken statement, she twisted her arm slightly, which seemed to increase the impact of the power. Doofus Rudy screamed loudly.

"I think it's time I told you what kind of power I have." Sandra said. Her voice was chillingly casual for this kind of situation. "I have, what you'd call, super healing powers." She turned her back to them, folding her arm behind her. She still seemed to have a hold of Doofus Rudy as he was still writhing in agony. "Now I know what you two must be thinking. Healing powers are used to help." She made a gesture at her side at this. "They cannot be used to hurt or control people." She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. She smiled at Rudy and Penny. "Well..that is where you are wrong."

Rudy and Penny glared at the sky blue zoner as she turned around and walked back towards them. They looked over apprehensively at Doofus Rudy before Sandra blocked their view, forcing them to look at her. They growled, but said not a word.

Sandra said, "Healing requires cell division, does it not?" Sandra looked down at Penny and smiled. "You know this to be true, don't you?" She tilted her head to one side, her ears flopping down. "You know a thing or two about health, right?"

Penny said, "My mom is a vet."

"Ah perfect! So you do know!" Sandra clasped her feather fingertips together, straighting herself up, her tail lowering towards the ground. "I take it you must know what happens when a cell reaches the end of its...dividing cycle or whatever it's called."

Penny widened her eyes at this. Rudy looked at her in confusion, wondering what had startled her. A quick chuckle from Sandra was his only clue that it wasn't anything good.

"The cell runs the risk of producing a cancerous version of itself." Sandra said. Rudy gasped in horror at this. "So in short, I can use my healing powers to induce tumors into my..victims... I can undo all the damage as well, reverting the cells back to their state from before I missed with them." She lifted up a feather finger and pressed it against her shoulder where Doofus Rudy had bitten her. "And in case you don't believe me that my powers are healing, let me show you this."

Rudy and Penny watched as a slight glow appeared around the gaping wound. The skin stretched and pulled, and in a matter of seconds, the wound closed up. It sealed quickly, and in a flash of light, the luminance was completely gone. There was no sign of any injury at all. Sandra lifted her arm towards herself, smiling as she flexed her arm. She looked back at the children, grinning.

Rudy couldn't believe it. He had always viewed healing as a good power. He had never seen it in ChalkZone that much and he couldn't even recall the last zoner he knew that had it. Healing was supposed to help people. It was supposed to aid in their recovery.

But this..this monster... She had been using her powers for evil. This was worse than a villain having a power that was obviously harmful. This zoner had taken the time to figure out how to use her otherwise beneficial power to harm others. The realization of this twisted their stomachs, making them feel sick.

Sandra smiled at them for several seconds. Then her ears twitched and flattened, and she turned to Doofus Rudy. She scowled at him in contempt. Then she looked back at the two children. She caught their expressions, and her frown faded away. She made her way over to Doofus Rudy.

"Wait! Don't hurt him more!" Penny cried.

Rudy reached forward. "Just let him go! Please!"

Sandra ignored their pleas. She walked towards the trembling zoner, watching as he shivered on the ground. Sandra lowered herself to him, eyeing his arm intently. She reached forward and grabbed onto it. Doofus Rudy pleaded with her to release him. Sandra tightened her grip on him, and she shut her eyes. Doofus Rudy's body stiffened as a glow wrapped around his arm. Rudy and Penny watched as the wound was healed up, disappearing as if nothing happened. Sandra stepped away from the zoner and looked down at him, folding her arms against her chest.

Although he was healed, Doofus Rudy still appeared to be in pain. He remained on the ground, holding his arm to himself. He whispered, mostly incoherent. A few times, he apologized to Doofus Penny. Some others, he asked why, and what did he do. The sight of this brought tears to Rudy and Penny's eyes.

"Oh don't get all teary eyed." Sandra said. "He's not going to be in pain for long."

Rudy glared at her. "What do you plan on doing to him?"

Sandra tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure if I should tell you."

Rudy was about to rush forward when he felt Penny grab his arm. She shook her head, in that instant, Rudy remembered what Sandra was capable of doing. He felt a dull ache in his arm and he winced. He glared back at Sandra, doing whatever he could to keep himself from lurching at her.

"But...why not?" Sandra motioned her hand to the side casually. "I suppose you deserve to know what I've been doing."

At this, Rudy said, "Yeah. What is that machine over there?" He pointed at the blender thing.

"And what are you using it for? And what do you plan to do with Doofus Rudy?" Penny asked.

"Why have you been killing zoners?" Rudy asked.

Sandra blinked at them a few times. She pulled her head back and let out a short-lived, though still creepy, laugh. When she was done, she looked at them and said, "I see you figured it all out! Well..kind of..." She folded her arms. "You two are still smart, however. I can see why Skrawl had a tough time with you. But enough of that.." She turned her head to the side, making a dismissive gesture before turning her arm against the other. "Let us talk about what I do. Don't worry. Everything will..fall into place."

Rudy and Penny glared at the dragon zoner. Sandra began to pace around them slowly, almost like a vulture would dead prey. Rudy and Penny winced at this behavior, but they still frowned at her, trying to look brave.

"You see, with a conflicting mind like I have, drawn as a healer, but with cooking abilities, I had no idea where I belonged. Of course, your friend Snap was quite generous and he helped me out. It was during this time of finding where I belonged that I discovered my healing powers and how they could be used to harm if I so pleased. Sometime later, I decided that I wanted to create some kind of restaurant, and Snap helped me with that, too. Even got me my first customers." She smiled at this. Then she frowned. "But see, I needed a gimmick. Something that would draw in customers. Something that would ensure that I would be a success."

Sandra continued circling the two children. They moved closer to one another, glaring at the dragon, but kept quiet as she continued her story.

"One day, there was an accident and...well long story short, I ended up with a corpse in my warehouse there." She spread her arms out. "I wanted to get rid of the body, since it was going to stink the place up, but then I had a thought. What if I were to just...feed the meat to my customers? Just cook it up long enough and it would be fine. I don't think anyone thought of that before, so I went through with it. It was a success."

Rudy felt like throwing up.

Sandra kept on walking in circles around the two. She came closer, closing the gap between them. Soon she was close enough to grap. The two children refused to do so, knowing that, at any second, the dragon could reactivate her powers on them.

Sandra held up her hand in gesture, her head facing the ground. "I realized that I could use this as my gimmick. It went over so well with my customers that I decided that would be what I'd do. Zoner meat is always so varied, never the same taste twice."

Penny's eyes widened. "So that's why you claim that the specials are never the same..."

"More or less, yes." Sandra nodded in confirmation. She turned her head slightly, her snout still facing the ground as her legs propelled her on her circular path. "The only problem left was deliverance. How was I going to get all that meat? Who would be my supplier?" She rubbed her chin at this, pretending that she was thinking. "I needed a place that would have endless meat, that I could pick off from without anyone realizing what I was doing."

Rudy snarled angrily at this. "Because you didn't want to go to jail!"

Sandra chuckled at this. "No, dear boy. It's actually because I didn't want anyone stealing my idea."

Rudy felt his stomach twist at this. "You actually thought that someone would copy your idea and sell zoner meat to people?!"

Sandra nodded her head. "Exactly." She lifted up a finger. "I couldn't allow that to happen. So I had to not only find a place, but I needed a way to make sure no one knew what I was doing." She stopped her pacing and turned her back to them. "I then realized something..." She swirled her tail around slowly from side to side. "The hospital in ChalkZone City has that sick ward. The terminally ill section I mean. And there's always new patients there. There'll always be children who draw zoners who are sick, and zoners who are drawn sick often do not recover. Then there's other factors... well skipping that." She looked over her shoulder at them, turning herself around and walking towards them. She tapped her fingers together. "I realized that I could use this to my advantage. An endless supply of meat for my restaurant." She stopped in front of the two children. "Brilliant idea, wouldn't you think?"

Penny said exactly what was on Rudy's mind. "Go bite your tail."

Sandra looked shocked by this, but said nothing. She smirked and folded her arms behind her back, straightening herself up even more until she was upright. "Well I did realize that someone might realize the patients were gone. What I needed was a way to prevent this. I can place tumors in heads, make them forget, but it would take too long to do it to all those people. So I created this."

She spread her arms out as she walked towards her machine. "This beautiful machine has made all of this possible. Not only does it grind up entire zoners and excretes out their meat," Sandra gave them a sideways glance. "But I also gave it my powers, but on a broader scale, and more subtle. No tumor placement. Just messing with the electro signals in the brain."

"So you used that machine to send all zoners into a sort of...trance?" Rudy asked.

"Well whoever I decide to. I can specify it, and control the frequency." Explained Sandra. "I also can use it to mess with security systems, which allowed me to grab some new meat whenever I needed it." She leaned against her machien, grinning at the children. "Between this baby..." She patted the machine. "And my perfect planning..." She jabbed a thumb against herself. "I've been able to create delicious, rare delicacies that have had customers flocking to my restaurant. I am a success!" She raised her hands into the air, looking proud and happy for what she has done.

"You've...You've been..." Penny's face was pale. "You've been feeding zoners the flesh of their own kind?!"

"What's the big deal?" Sandra shrugged. "We're all zoners, and we're all meat. It's no different than eating a non-sentient chalk cow, or one of those foods that talk and wants to be eaten."

"There's a world of difference!" Penny shouted.

"Eh, details.." Sandra waved a dismissive hand at her. Noticing her glare, Sandra chuckled. "Now come on, little girl." She raised her hands at her sides. "No reason to get upset. It's no big deal, really."

Rudy seethed at this. "And you..you killed all those zoners just because Snap ruined your precious machine?!"

Sandra nodded her head at this. "I needed to make sure that Snap regretted betraying me." Rudy and Penny hissed at this. "I didn't want to do it, but in the end, I knew I had to. So I arranged a fake party, gathered up some random zoners off the street, making sure none of them had a connection to Snap, and then blew it up."

"Using white flame fireworks..." Penny hissed.

"Why yes, that's right. Good for you for figuring that out, Penny." Sandra said, a slight congratulatory tone to her voice. "I needed something that was small and portable enough, yet would create a huge bang. White fire is among the most intense of flames, so I went with that. It worked like a charm. I confronted Snap afterwards, placing the tumor in his head before anyone found him." She took a few steps back when she noticed the rage etched in the children's faces. "Now, now... It'll all be over soon. Your friend's suffering will end and you will have him back."

"And what if Doofus Rudy?" Penny asked. "What do you plan on doing with him?"

"Simple..." Sandra held up her hand in gesture. "I want to make amends with Snap. I want to make him a nice dinner. I know on some level, he cares about Doofus Rudy here." She gave a quick glance at the pained and terrified zoner. "So I know that he would definitely enjoy his meat then. Fear-tinged meat is great, and him being a sort of friend to Snap makes it even better. Nothing says friendship like enjoying each other's flesh."

Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at this, unable to believe what they heard. Anger swept through their heads. They ground their teeth together. Rage boiled through their blood. Their bodies began to tremble. Sandra's eyes widened and she moved back further. She looked utterly perplexed that they were even reacting this way, which infuriated them even more.

This zoner..this monster.. How could she do this...? How could she kill all those zoners and use their flesh for recipes like this? How could she torture their best friend, and then act like she had done nothing wrong?

The realization that all this pain and suffering was caused by a delusional zoner who merely wanted to prevent her business from going away boiled their blood. They never felt so enraged in their lives. They could practically see red, their faces heating up as blood was flushed into it. It took all their will power not to charge at the dragon zoner. She was absolutely disgusting and vile. How could she live with herself? How could she go to sleep at night with the knowledge of the heinous acts she had committed?

Rudy knew now, even more than before, how important it was that this fiend was locked up for good. If she were to allowed to remain on the streets, more zoners would be killed to satisfy her sick, twisted need of obtaining their meat, and her patrons would continue eating without realizing they could be eating the flesh of a fallen loved one. The thought made him feel nauseous and his head started to spin. He rubbed his upper chest and throat, fighting off that uncomfortable feeling. When he had regained control of himself, he took a step forward, locking eyes with the evil dragon zoner.

"We will stop you... You will not get away with this. I promise you that." Rudy said.

Sandra snapped her head back and snarled. "You dare make a promise like that?" She leaned forward, her lips pulled up to expose her sharp teeth. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?!"

"Yes." Rudy nodded his head. He bent down and picked up his piece of magic chalk that he dropped earlier. He lifted it up and showed it to her. "I am going to make sure that you never harm another innocent zoner again." He narrowed his eyes in determination. "I promise."

Sandra's breathing increased as she raised her hands at her sides as if to grab something. She took a step back and, for a moment, appeared quite terrified. Then anger soon become the dominant emotion on her face. She bared her teeth at Rudy, who looked unfazed by it. Then Sandra smiled twistedly and spoke in that feral voice from before. "Then so be it..."

Rudy's eyes widened as he realized he forgot about Sandra's power. Her head mark glowed and he immediately felt a surge of agony. He held his arm to himself, feeling it begin to bulge. He could feel Penny scream his name and hold onto him. His mind was so wracked with agony, he could barely register her. The only thing on his mind was the horrific pain that this villain was putting him through.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped. Rudy let out a pained sigh of relief. He rubbed his arm gingerly. He looked at Penny, wondering if she did anything. But from her expression, it was clear she was not responsible for this. Instead, she looked shocked, looking at where Sandra was. Curious, Rudy looked over to see what Penny was looking at.

He took immediate notice of Sandra. She had taken a step forward, but her body was arched in a way that suggested she was hit. He could even see her hold her arm, a small cut on it. On the ground not far, he could see there was a small knife. It was clear someone threw a knife at her and it made its mark, enough to stop her from hurting him.

But it couldn't have been Doofus Rudy who did that. He was still on the ground in agony and fear. So who could have..?

His eyes widened when he saw who it was.

"Mint..?"

Indeed, standing not far from Sandra was Mint. Rudy was shocked. What was he doing here? He was injured. He was missing part of his foot. He was vulnerable. Sandra was going to rip right through him.

"Mint...get out of here!" Rudy pleaded. "Please!"

Mint looked at Rudy. He shook his head. "I have to do this."

"So..." Sandra turned around, glaring at Mint. "You must be one of my creators. How..nice of you to join..." She walked towards him slowly, swishing her tail in agitation. "Don't think I'll treat you differently just because you are one of my creators."

"I wouldn't have it any other way..." Mint hissed at her.

Sandra smirked. "So, did you come here to challenge me?"

Mint nodded her head. Keeping himself steady on his crutch, he raised up his piece of magic chalk. "Unless you're too scared."

Sandra flashed her teeth at this, a smile radiating with amusement and anger spreading across her face. "Bring it on." She growled.


	29. Opening The Doors

Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside...

-Stand My Ground, Within Temptation

sss

"Will you stop it, Mosaic?!" The doctor cried. "I'm getting tired of this!"

"Go lay down or something!" Another doctor shouted.

A third one agreed. "Go find your chew toys!"

Dr. Crobat let out a sad sigh as he watched Mosaic bounding around the employee lounge of the hospital. She was making quite the commotion. Jumping, rolling, snarling, whatever she could. It seemed as though she wanted their attention, but why, none of them could be certain. And right now, all she was succeeding in doing was annoying the heck out of most of the doctors.

Mosaic didn't seem to notice. Why would she? She wasn't fully sentient like the rest of them. Her mind set was different, unlike theirs. They couldn't expect her to act or think like them. To her, she was probably not doing anything wrong, and that this was totally normal.

It was amazing how much energy Mosaic had despite being injured. She seemed impervious to the pain at the moment. It was like she was so pumped full of adrenaline, she hardly noticed she was injured. She just kept bounding around like nothing was wrong. Attempts to make her stop were futile.

But her wounds weren't as bad as they thought they would be. So running around like this shouldn't cause too much trouble. They were in a hospital as well. First sign of danger, they would take her into a room and treat her. Or, more likely, they'd shoot her with a dart before things got out of hand. And from the looks of things, it would seem that could happen anytime soon.

Dr. Crobat could understand why the other doctors were getting annoyed. This wasn't the first time Mosaic acted like this, but this time, it was much worse than before. She had kept this up for an hour now. She was relentless, determined. She kept getting in their way, knocking over a few doctors. She wouldn't stop. It was like she wanted them to do something, but none of them could translate her actions. None of them could understand what she wanted. For all they knew, she was just hungry.

No, that wasn't it. One of the doctors already tried bringing her something to eat, as well as water. She rejected them. Not only that, but she grabbed the dish of water with her jaws and tossed it at them.

This infuriated the doctors and they attempted to kick her out. This didn't work for very long. She made an even bigger commotion outside. She'd yowl, roar, scratch the door, whatever she could. This combined with her running around was going to annoy the patients on the floor above them, and it was making it hard for other workers, including doctors still on duty, of the hospital to do their job. The visitors were also intimidated by her and kept back.

Not wanting an issue to come out of this, the doctors did eventually agree to let her back in, bringing in some of her toys and her bed in hopes that she would wear herself out eventually. She couldn't have that much energy, could she?

Oh boy did they turn out to be wrong...

Even an hour later, Mosaic was just as energetic as before. It was driving them all crazy. Even Dr. Crobat himself was getting fed up with her. He tried to be more sympathetic towards her. After all, she was just a smart animal who, in this case, didn't know any better.

But the crocodile zoner was beginning to work his last nerve. If Mosaic didn't stop soon, action would need to be taken. He heard one of the doctors comment that they were going to tranquilize Mosaic if she kept this up. Tranquilization wasn't something they did often, and they tried to avoid it. But in Mosaic's case, if she didn't settle down, they would have to use that. Then they would put her in her crate and place her somewhere quiet and warm where she wouldn't bother anyone.

Dr. Crobat had to wonder just what was causing this behavior. It was so strange. He hadn't seen her act his bizarre before. In the past, the most she wanted was some food. But that bit had been ruled out, and she was acting crazier than ever. Something was on her mind, but he couldn't tell what it was. He began to wonder if...

No, it couldn't be true. Those children wouldn't do anything to Mosaic. They were good kids, helping to keep ChalkZone safe. They wouldn't...

Or would they..?

Dr. Crobat felt a chill go up and down his spine as he realized he didn't know those three as well as he thought. He didn't take the time to really get to know them. He didn't relax with them for long, speak to them much except regarding their friend. In fact, if it weren't for their firend being admitted here for a while, he probably never would have gotten to know them.

So how much about them did he know? What did he know about the way they thought, acted around ChalkZone, among those other things. He knew they protected ChalkZone. He knew that they never tried to harm anyone... well except for that Mint kid, but he's changed...far as he knew.

What if there was a side to them that he wasn't aware of? What if they were capable of doing something like this, even if just by accident? What if there was a chance...

He tried to push the thoughts aside. He couldn't allow himself to be pulled into this. He couldn't let himself be convinced that those children were up to something, because they weren't. They were just worried for their friend, and they were trying to help prove his innocense. They were genuinely worried for ChalkZone's safety ever since this whole mess began, and they had worked tirelessly years ago in repairing the parts that were damaged. If they truly didn't care, why would they do any of that?

But he couldn't shake off what Dr. Gelcro had told him. He tried to find an explanation for it, that they were helping Snap. But there was a still a part of him that just..wasn't sure what to think.

Dr. Gelcro had told him that the children broke into the hospital. When he first heard it, he was shocked, but he soon figured that they were just trying to find evidence for their friend. After all, some of the doctors weren't being so friendly to them, and they must have thought that they'd get kicked out. There was little he himself could do about this, though, since he had been kicked off the investigation team regarding Snap. He had no say over whether or not Rudy and his friends could investigate Snap's old room.

But when Dr. Gelcro mentioned that Mosaic was in the room with them...and that she had been acting strangely in there... He couldn't help but feel a level of confusion. Her behavior now was similar to that, only worse.

He could see why Dr. Gelcro was suspicious. It was only after Rudy, Penny, and Snap appeared that she acted this way. And the fact that they snuck into the hospital using invisibility, and then later disappeared so quickly using a teleportation system...yeah that did warrant some suspicion. Dr. Crobat wanted to believe that it was just part of their investigation.

But what if Dr. Gelcro was right? What if the kids really were up to something? He didn't want to believe it was true. But he knew better than that. He and the other doctors knew that they could not allow their emotions get in the way of facts. If the children were guilty, if Snap was responsible, then he was going to have to accept it, no matter how painful it was going to be.

He was torn out of his thoughts when he heard one of the doctors call out to Mosaic again.

"Stop it, Mosaic! This is getting old!"

Dr. Crobat turned his head, looking at where Mosaic was now. She was in front of one of the male doctors in the room. He recognized him as the doctor that Mint supposedly attacked. Mosaic was rolling in front of him, ignoring her wounds, trying to get his attention.

The docor glared down at her, baring his teeth. He took a few sips of his coffee, turning his head away. He appeared to be trying to ignore Mosaic, but all methods to do so weren't working. Mosaic was getting more and more up in his face. She pushed her muzzle against him, trying to get his attention. The male doctor snarled at her and shot her a glare. Then he got up from his seat and walked away.

"Dang stupid croc..." He muttered under his breath.

When Mosaic seemed to realize she couldn't get his attention, she went for another one. This time, a snake-like female doctor, one of the ones that had accused Snap before. Mosaic pushed against her, growling repeatedly.

The snake zoner rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Oh no, not again..." She grumbled as she tried to ignore the crocodile zoner.

Dr. Crobat stared at this, his expression still sad. He wished he knew what was wrong with her. He wanted to know why Mosaic was acting like this. He started to wonder if she was trying to tell them something, but nothing she was doing translated into something they could understand. It was just a bunch of random stuff that none of them could make heads or tales of. If Mosaic was trying to tell them something, her calls were falling on deaf ears.

"What a show, am I right...?"

Dr. Crobat jerked at that voice. He turned his head. "Oh, Dr. Gelcro..." He whispered softly, placing a hand against his chest and feeling his heart beating fast. "You startled me! I..I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Dr. Gelcro shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah I know. But my shift changed." He sat down next to the bird zoner. He scretched himself, cracking his back, and let out a sigh as he leaned forward. He interlocked his fingers together as his arms rested on his thighs. "So..." He gave the bird a sideways glance. "..how long as she been like this?"

Dr. Crobat said, "About an hour now."

"Did any of you figure out what she wanted?" Asked Dr. Gelcro.

Dr. Crobat shook his head. "No, not really." He gritted his beak as he looked over at Mosaic. She had moved on to yet another doctor zoner. "I wonder what is so important that she'd ignore her wounds."

Shrugging his shoulders, the husky zoner said, "Who knows? Maybe it's just her being...well herself." He paused for a moment, as if realizing how silly that might have sounded. "Or maybe it has something to do with those children..."

Dr. Crobat would normally defend the kids. He would find something to say in their favor. He didn't want to jump to conclusions and think they were somehow responsible. But at this point, he was so exhausted with all that was going on that he just...couldn't bring himself to do that anymore. He had to face facts, and consider the possibility.

"...perhaps.." That was all he could bring himself to say.

Dr. Gelcro stared at him in shock. "R-Really? You're not going to try to argue?" He tilted his head, staring at him in confusion. "No attempts to defend those children?"

Dr. Crobat sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to believe it. But..." He looked over at his friend, staring at him in the eyes. "I understand that I must...consider the possibility..."

Dr. Gelcro blinked a few times. Then he gave a small smile. The happiest one he had given in such a long time. "Well...I'm glad for that."

Dr. Crobat didn't answer. He remained quiet, his beak pointed to the ground. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness as he realized he was surrendering to his friend's crazy ideas. He was beginning to think that, maybe, they weren't so crazy after all. The thought disgusted a part of him, but the other... Well, there was still a chance that his friend was right.

If he was right, he wondered how they could go about with proving it. How would they prove that the creators were doing anything? It was all circumstanial. Even them being in the room with a crazy-acting Mosaic was just circumstantial. Something else might have been going on. Maybe there was an angle that they weren't thinking of.

Whatever was going on, whoever was ultimately responsible, he hoped they would get caught soon. He hoped that someone, somewhere, figured something out and were on their way to capturing the fiend and bringing them to justice.

So many zoners had suffered because of their heinous crimes. He would be damned if he allowed it to continue for much longer. Sooner or later, the truth would come rushing forth, and everyone wuld finally see the face of their attacker, their tormentor.

"Don't worry." Dr. Gelcro said. He placed a hand on Dr. Crobat's shoulder. "We'll capture them. They will pay for what they have done."

"If they've done anything." Dr. Crobat corrected.

"I thought you agreed with me." Dr. Gelcro sounded almost a little...hurt.

Dr. Crobat looked over at him, granting him a small smile. "We still need proof. Something that is infallible, not circumstantial. Besides..." He looked away. "I never said I completely agreed with you." He closed his eyes. "Just that I'm starting to think that maybe you have a point."

"Oh? Why the change of heart?" The siberian husky folded his arms against his chest. "As I recall, you were very stubbornly clinging to the idea of them being innocent."

"I still think they might be. I won't lie. I have trouble seeing them as deliberately causing anything. But I..." The bird tilted his head upwards, looking towards the ceiling. "I have to admit..I don't know them that well. Maybe there's a side of them that I did not know about." He looked back over at his friend. "Besides, it's not a good idea to let emotion get in the way of judgment. If they were responsible, I must accept it. I must..consider the possibility."

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. "Indeed, that is true." He looked away for a few moments. Then he said, "I...hope you don't think too less of me, for the way I acted lately. I just..." He sighed. He shifted himself and looked at Dr. Crobat. He held his hand out in gesture. "I just really want this case to be closed, you know?"

Dr. Crobat nodded his head. "Don't worry. I understand. Cases like this can drive anyone insane." He gave a bitter chuckle, closing his eyes. "At least, in the end, when this is all over, we can look back on this and laugh."

"Maybe...yeah." Dr. Gelcro said with a smile. "Time will tell."

"Yeah..." Dr. Crobat said in a soft voice.

The two doctors remained quiet. Despite this, there was no silence in the room, and they both knew why. Mosaic was still putting up a fuss, annoying the other doctors. The two of them watched this display, both lost in their own thoughts, both thinking about what this could mean.

Dr. Crobat still wanted to hold onto the believe that Rudy and his friends were innocent. He still wanted to believe there had to be a good explanation for their behavior, for how everything was adding up. They were just trying to help their friend, weren't they? Yeah...that was all it was. He had to keep holding onto that believe. He didn't want to end up suspecting them like Dr. Gelcro was. He didn't want to become the enemy.

He could see the look in his friend's eyes. Dr. Gelcro still had that determination in his eyes. He was watching Mosaic intently. There was a flash of regret, as if he believed that he was, in part, responsible for her behavior. He could also tell that Dr. Gelcro was willing to do what it took to help ChalkZone City recover. He had a good heart. But his actions at times were..questionable.

Dr. Crobat thought briefly to that small bird that Dr. Gelcro said had been a spy. There was little he could do to argue against that. The bird was dead and gone. He wouldn't be surprised if Mosaic ate it. Despite thinking there might be more to it, he could not prove or disprove anyone's theory regarding the bird.

He looked back at Mosaic. She was slowing down a little now. He could see the look in her eyes. She was starting to become exhausted. The pain looked to be getting to her now. He guessed that the adrenaline that powered her before was finally wearing off.

He was glad for that. Mosaic needed to rest. She had expended so much energy in this short amount of time. He was hoping that she would collapse from exhaustion soon, before one of the doctors decided to tranquilize her.

Mosaic seemed to have given up on the current doctor. She turned her head, looking towards them. She gave a low growl, intermixed with something kind of like a whimper. She then bolted off in their direction. He and Dr. Gelcro remained silent as Mosaic came to them.

"Go away, Mosaic." Dr. Gelcro grumbled, lowering his ears a tad. "We don't need to watch you perform."

But Mosaic didn't go away. Stubborn like she had been before, she remained. She rose up onto her back legs and placed her paws on Dr. Gelcro's knees. She leaned against him, letting out a series of low, guttural growls. She then dropped down and she pushed against Dr. Crobat's legs. He could feel her practically lift them up, nearly causing him to lose his balance and fall down. She went around the table and came at Dr. Gelcro from the other side, headbutting him hard enough to make him spill his coffee.

"Oh geez!" Hissed Dr. Gelcro, his ears flattening. The coffee had spilled all over his hospital suit. "I just had this cleaned, too!" He shot a glare to Mosaic. "Look, if you don't stop this, we'll..."

Mosaic stopped him by nipping his nose. Not a hard bite, but enough to make the dog jerk his head back, holding his face. The other doctors looked shocked by this. Even Dr. Crobat was taken aback by Mosaic's actions.

Mosaic seemed to show some regret for her action as she lowered her head and let out a whine. But she still attempted to get their attention. She rushed over, gripping Dr. Crobat by his sleeve and pulled on him. She then went over to Dr. Gelcro. She gently nudged him, this time not using her teeth. She pawed at him, and gave him an expression similar to an animal begging for food.

But she wasn't begging for food. So what did she want? Why did she keep on doing this? None of the doctors could figure it out, and from their expressions, a number of them didn't care. They just wanted her to be quiet and still.

"Mosaic.." Dr. Crobat said in a gentle voice. Mosaic came over to him. He winced as she placed her paws on his lap, feeling her claws sticking into him. "You need to calm down. You are still recovering."

Mosaic didn't seem to listen. She kept growling at him, snapping her jaws, making a big show. She then jumped away from him, and, positioning herself in front of him and Dr. Gelcro, she flopped onto her back and rolled around. Her thick tail moved rapidly back and forth, her scales scraping the ground.

Her tail suddenly hit a small object that was on the ground. A small ball that had gotten into the room somehow. Dr. Crobat forgot what it was doing there, but he didn't think about that too much. Mosaic's tail hit against it, sending it flying around the room. The ball richoted off the walls. A few doctors were hit, who all let out cries and shouts of pain. Then the ball hit against one of the glass cups, shattering it. The doctors all moved out of the way as pieces of glass shot everywhere.

"Oh...! That's it! I've had it!" A female doctor snarled. She stormed off towards Mosaic. "Come here, you..!"

"No."

Dr. Crobat looked over at his friend, who had spoken up. Dr. Gelcro got up from his seat, averting gaze with the other zoners.

"I'll take care of her." Dr. Gelcro said.

Dr. Crobat gritted his beak. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah." Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. "I don't mind doing it."

None of the doctors protested as Dr. Gelcro came up towards Mosaic. He grabbed her leash that was on the nearby table. He didn't bother getting her toys. Dr. Crobat knew he would get them later. After hooking her up, Dr. Gelcro went towards the door. He pushed it open and went out. In a matter of seconds, their footsteps disappeared, bringing about silence to the room. Then the doctors resumed talking with each other as if nothing happened.

Dr. Crobat stared at the door, wondering if he should have gone with. Maybe he could have done something to help. A part of him wanted to get up and follow, but he couldn't bring himself to.

Maybe it was because he was feeling a bit guilty. Maybe he was angry. Maybe he was just too depressed. He wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it was preventing him from getting up and following his friend.

He stared at the door for a few more seconds. He then gave a sigh, turned his head, and he went over to the counter to get his own beverage.

sss

"All right, you..." Dr. Gelcro growled softly. "You've been acting up too much lately, and you are going to..."

Mosaic growled and snarled as she pulled back against him. Despite her injuries, it was amazing how much of a fight she was putting up. She was making it perfectly clear that she did not want to go anywhere with him. Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes at this, anger boiling his blood.

But it wasn't Mosaic herself he was angry with. As much as she was being a pest right now, he knew it wasn't her fault. He couldn't point his anger at her. Instead, he channeled it to who deserved it the most.

Rudy and his friends.

Those rotten brats... He knew that they were up to something. He knew they did something to Mosaic to make her act like this. There was no other explanation, nothing else that made sense. She was just fine before they...

He tried to calm himself down. They would get theirs in time. He just..needed to prove that they were involved. If he did that, then the rest would follow suit. The children would ultimately pay for what they did and Snap would be locked up forever, away where he couldn't hurt anyone again. Then everything would return to normal.

He was glad that Dr. Crobat was starting to consider the possibility of him being right. While he would have preferred full on acceptance, the fact that Dr. Crobat was thinking about it at all was a step forward. He hated arguing with his friend. He hated the way he acted towards him lately. He hoped that his friend would soon come onto the same page as him.

Things would be so much simpler that way.

He continued to drag Mosaic down the hall. He needed to get her into her crate, but first, he needed to tranquilize her. He wished that he had asked for someone to come with. Mosaic, even injured, was quite strong, and he almost lost his grip on her. He managed to pull her a few feet towards their destination, but then she planted her feet on the ground, digging in her claws. She refused to budge another inch.

"Mosaic! Come on!" Dr. Gelcro pulled on her leash. "Enough fooling around! You've got to...!"

Mosaic gave a jerk back, pulling Dr. Gelcro forward and making him crash into the ground. He let out a cry of pain as his muzzle hit the hard surface. He lifted up his head and glared at Mosaic.

Before he could finish, the animal zoner bolted off. Dr. Gelcro growled at this. Great, now he was going to have to search the entire building for her. He pushed himself up to his feet, wiping off his arms and chest. He looked out ahead to see which way the crocodile zoner went. He expected to see her retreating form far away, but to his surprise, she was coming back towards him.

Dr. Gelcro thought, at first, that she had given up and decided to come quietly. This turned out not to be the case, however. She ran in a wide circle around him, making short bursts of noise. She ran around him a few times and then moved out in front of him. Dr. Gelcro watched in confusion as she turned her back to him and then looked over her shoulder at him. She made a mock charge forward, keeping her eyes on him. She let out a low growl, raising her tail up.

Dr. Gelcro was confused for a few seconds. He didn't know exactly what Mosaic was trying to do. Oh how he wished that newly drawn creations would come with a manual... That would definitely make this task a lot easier.

Then he started to think. Maybe Mosaic was trying to show him something. When he thought of that, her odd behavior was starting to make sense. She had been acting like this not because anything was wrong with her, but because she wanted to tell them something. He wasn't sure how they could have missed that before. Then again, the recent events with the creators and Snap kind of made it difficult for any of them to relax.

"Oh okay then... what did you want to tell me?" Dr. Gelcro said, rubbing the side of his head.

When he said this, there was an excited growl from Mosaic, as if she had finally gotten what she wanted. She rushed towards them and grabbed onto his sleeve. She tugged him forward.

Dr. Gelcro pulled back. "Okay okay! I'll follow you!" He rubbed his wrist. "Just don't pull on me again."

Dr. Gelcro followed Mosaic as the crocodile zoner lead him down the hallway. She was moving at pretty good speed for someone that was injured. He had to quicken his own pace just to keep up. They took care not to bump into anyone, especially a patient, as they continued down the corriders and hallways.

They soon came to the stairs. From this, Dr. Gelcro could deduce that Mosaic wanted something in relation to the patient portion of the hospital. This made thoughts run through his mind. Where was she leading him? What was it up here that she wanted to show him? Had there been another hospital death? Had a patient gone missing? Did Snap come back? Something else that he wasn't even thinking of?

He narrowed his eyes. As he raced up the steps, keeping up with Mosaic, as his heart pounded against his chest, he knew that, if something like that was going on, he was going to stop it. This time, if those brats tried to make a move, they would fail.

It didn't take them long to reach the top level. Mosaic stopped for a moment, pacing from side to side. Dr. Gelcro watched her, confused. She put her nose to the ground. It seemed as though she was trying to find the scent of..whatever it was she was trying to track down. After several moments, there was no change, and he started to get worried that she had lost the scent trail entirely.

"What is it, girl?" Dr. Gelcro asked. Mosaic looked up at him. "What's wrong? What did you want to show me?" He held up his hands. "Where to next?"

He wasn't sure what good it was going to do him asking these questions. Though Mosaic understood most things, that didn't mean she processed it the way he did, nor did it mean that she would pick up the pace faster. If she lost the scent, then she...

Mosaic seemed to have found the scent again. She pushed on him with her muzzle, urging him down the hallway with her. They zipped passed multiple doors. Despite their efforts, they still nearly crashed in a few patients, and bumped into a few doctors. Dr. Gelcro apologized, but couldn't stay long to explain. He looked down at Mosaic, seeing her move out in front of him, her feet pounding the ground. He picked up the pace, knowing that he had to keep up with her.

After a few turns, and a few more seconds of exhaustive running, they finally stopped running. Dr. Gelcro leaned against the wall, taking in a few quick breaths, his hand against his chest. He tried to settle down his racing heart, thinking to himself that he needs some more exercise.

It took him a few moments to realize that they had arrived at their destination. He realized that Mosaic wasn't running anymore, and she was staring intently at the door that they were right next to. Dr. Gelcro moved back, looking at the door up and down. He narrowed his eyes as he realized what this was.

It was Snap's room.

Dr. Gelcro bared his sharp teeth at this. Mosaic was trying to tell him something about the room that Snap ahd been in. Thoughts raced through him. Had Snap done something else that he wasn't aware of? What kind of danger did Mosaic sniff out? Only one way to find out.

Dr. Gelcro pushed the door open. He flipped the light switch on, illuminating the room, the thick curtain blocking out the Day Zone sun outside. He walked into the room, Mosaic following suit. He was not worried about waking anyone up. No other patient had been assigned in this room yet. Good thing, too. Otherwise this investigation may have been a bit difficult, especially if the patient was cranky or in pain.

He looked down at Mosaic, watching her, waiting for her to show him what she found. The crocodile zoner looked up at him at first, tilting her head from one side to the other. This confused him until he realized she was probably waiting for an affirmative gesture, telling her that she has his full attention. He gave a firm nod of the head, and that was good enough for her.

Mosaic moved towards the bed. The husky followed close behind her. She jumped onto the bed, her weight making the bed squeak a little. She jumped on it once, and then pushed her head into the blanket. She wriggled her nose around in it, wrinkling the blanket up. She took in a few loud sniffs, and she pawed at the bed. She then looked over at Dr. Gelcro.

The siberian husky looked at this in confusion. What could Mosaic possibly smell on the bed? Well other than Snap of course. He frowned slightly, realizing that detecting the runt's smell there was not going to help him prove once and for all that Snap was the culprit. He was going to do need to try something else.

He didn't have time to turn around. With a loud squeak of metal, he realized that Mosaic was off the bed. She had rounded in front of him. She blocked his path out of the room. She glared at him, growling softly. She then rushed forward, lowering her head and pushing against him. When it became obvious that she was not going to quit until she did what she wanted him to do, Dr. Gelcro gave in and he followed her back to the bed.

He watched her as she got on the bed again, sniffing at the blanket. She hit her paw against it a few times, this time with more earnest than before. Her claws nearly ripped into the cloth. She looked up at Dr. Gelcro expectantly, letting out a low sound almost like a whine.

Unable to think of what she wanted, there was only one thing Dr. Gelcro thought he could do. Since Mosaic apparently smelled something on here, and that she thought it was of interest, he decided to have a whiff himself. He had a pretty good sense of smell. Perhaps he could detect what it was that caught her attention.

Dr. Gelcro moved forward, grabbing onto the blanket and lifted it up. He held the cloth in his paw, bringing it close to him. He put his nose towards it and he took a few sniffs.

His eyes widened slightly at this smell. It seemed so...familiar, yet alien. He couldn't quite place it at first. He sniffed it a few more times. Where had he smelled something like this before? He should know this. He looked over at Mosaic, who looked at him expectantly. He knew there was something in this smell she wanted to tell him. So he kept on sniffing, hoping that his nose would eventually pick up something.

There was an almost...iron-like smell here. A bit stronger than he would expect, and heavy, almost like blood. But this was intermixed with something else. Another kind of chemical. It was a bit close to the hamburgers he liked to get from the cafeteria, but stronger. It was close to the smell of raw meat, but not exactly.

His eyes widened when he realized what the smell was. He sniffed a a few more times in order to confirm his suspicion. He could no longer deny it. He knew exactly what this was.

But..but how..? How was it possible? How could they have missed it? How did he not pay attention? He looked back down at Mosaic. She was moving her tail from side to side, looking pleased that he had discovered what she was referring to. She let out a growl and jumped back. She moved her head rapidly to the side, as if to point towards the door.

Dr. Gelcro stared from the door, to the blanket, then back to the door again. Smell could not be faked this thoroughly. He knew the smell was real, and the fact that it was...the implications of what all that meant was going to shake the foundation of this case. He gritted his teeth, narrowing his eyes in determination. He knew what he had to do.

Dr. Gelcro rushed out of the room, leaving behind Mosaic. He wasn't sure if she was following him anymore. And at the moment, it didn't matter. He kept his focus on his new mission. He could not screw this up. Maybe there was still time before...

He brushed past a few patients and doctors. He bumped into a few, knocking them down. He did not stay to apologize. He just kept on going, focusing his attention on his new destination. He had to do this before it was too late.

He made it back down to the first floor where he was before, and he made a sharp turn down one of the hallways. He didn't pay attention to anyone who tried to call out his name. He didn't listen to anyone shouting at him as he raced down the hallway. He kept his focus up ahead, looking left and right. That room had to be around here somewhere...

Soon he spotted it. He skidded to a stop, nearly tripping over his own feet. He turned around and headed towards the door. He opened it up and stepped inside. It was a small storage room. This was where he would find what he was looking for.

He looked left and right, eyeing up the shelves of equipment all around him. He tried his best to ignore the strong, dank smell all around him, the smell of chemicals, and the intimidating look of some of these pieces of equipment. He wasn't going to be in here long. He just needed to find one thing.

And there it was. By itself, on the oldest-looking shelf they had.

Dr. Gelcro reached over and grabbed it immediately. He wrapped his fingers around the device he had been seeking, feeling its cold structure against his sensitive hands. He looked down at it, studying it for a few moments. Then, narrowing his eyes, he rushed out of the room and soon out of the hospital completely.

He had to get to the jail, and fast.

sss

Snap laid down on the ground, his body shaking. He dared not to move. He couldn't bring himself to. Where would he go? What could he accomplish? In his current state, not a whole lot. He had no cane with him. He had nothing to help him walk. All he could do was remain on the ground and hope that this would all end soon.

Above him stood Taima. The zoner smirked down at him. Snap couldn't get himself to look up at his tormentor. He feared that if he did so, he might end up getting hurt more. He kept the side of his face firmly planted against the ground, his eyes shut.

He could hear the cold laughter of Taima above him. The zoner was clearly enjoying this. Snap's body shivered harder as he realized that his ordeal was not over. Not yet. And this would just be one of many incidents. He wanted to beg and plead with him to stop. But that would only increase his desire to hurt him. He had no choice but to surrender completely to Taima and let him do whatever he wanted with him.

Maybe if he remained still and quiet, he would leave him alone faster. Maybe if he showed absolute submission to him, he would have less of a reason to attack him. Maybe he would hault this sooner, and allow him to have some peace of mind.

But a part of him knew that Taima may still hurt him for a little while longer. He recalled the look in his eyes. He recalled the way his voice had sounded. No, Taima was not through with him yet.

He remembered what Taima said earlier. He still wanted to have fun with him. He intended on fulfilling that promise of his. He was not going to delay it longer. He could tell that Taima had been looking forward to this for some time. He was taking quite the pleasure in this, which made Snap's blood run cold. He couldn't understand how anyone could possibly enjoy this.

He could feel Taima lowering himself down towards him. He could feel his hand gripping his shoulder, keeping him down. Then Taima's hot breath against his ear. Taima whispered into it, sending chills through Snap's body.

"This is fun. I'm having fun...aren't you...?"

Snap didn't bother answering. He just let out a few whimpers, his body shaking, curling up. Taima just chuckled at his lack of a response. Snap didn't have time to react when the zoner grabbed him by his arm and hoisted him up. Snap kept his eyes shut, turning his head away.

Taima growled. He suddenly reached forward and pressed his fingers roughly against Snap's face. The zoner let out a series of panicked whimpers as he felt the digits mess with his face, centering around his eyes. In seconds, the stick figure zoner pushed his eyelids apart, forcing the small zoner to look up at him.

"Look at me, you little bitch!" Taima snarled in his face. "I want you to look at me while I do this!"

Snap whimpered softly. He didn't want to, but he was too terrified to disobey. He slowly opened up his other eye, and forced his stiff neck to turn towards the zoner. As soon as he had his full attention on Taima, the stick figure smiled at him, and become eerily calm.

"There, isn't that better?" Taima patted him on the head. Snap stiffened up at this. "It's always so much better when you look in each other's eyes...don't you think?"

Snap gulped. He shifted his eyes left and right, uncertain if Taima wanted an answer or not. A quick glare from the stick figure gave her the answer. "..y-yes..." He squeaked out.

Taima stared at him. He tilted his head to one side. He narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you..." Snap's eyes widened at this, but he had no time to protest.

Taima, tightening his grip on Snap's leg, thrust him against the wall. Snap let out a scream as his body slammed against the hard surface. Taima pulled him back. He looked down at him, as if waiting for him to say something. When Snap didn't, Taima looked pissed and he slammed him again, making Snap cry out once more.

This went on for a few moments. Snap cried out each time he hit against the wall. Each time, Taima appeared to apply more force. Snap could feel pain radiating through his body, making him cry softly. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. He looked up at Taima pleadingly, opening his mouth to speak. Taima froze at this, and waited to hear what he had to say.

"I-I give!" Snap cried out. "I-I admit it.. I don't...I don't think this is better. Please..stop..!"

Taima stared at Snap for a few moments. Slowly, he smiled and he pulled Snap back. He kept the zoner hovered above the ground, and then he brought him close. He stared into Snap's eyes for several seconds, giving a couple quick and dark chuckles. Snap winced at this. He wanted to look away, but knowing that it woud piss off Taima, he kept still.

Taima reached out and patted Snap again. "You see how much easier things are when you confess the truth?" He gently stroked the top of Snap's head. He moved his hand along until it reached the back of his skull. "Things are just...so much simpler that way." He tilted his head. "Wouldn't you agree...?"

Snap gulped and cringed back. His body shook harder. He didn't try to answer this time. He knew that his expression would tell Taima all he needed to know. He looked at the zoner in fear, wondering if and when his torment was going to end.

Snap wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He had been enduring this for a while now. He forgot when Taima started, but it's been at least an hour now, and he still hadn't stopped. The zoner just kept on having fun with him, or what the zoner considered fun. It was grueling and painful for Snap, and he knew that he was going to suffer from some mental scarring from this.

"I thought about stopping..." Taima said. Snap just looked at him in fear. "But perhaps I'm being a little too...hasty." He reached out and scratched Snap's chin like he were a pet. "I think you could use a little more..fun..."

Snap's eyes bulged. He shook his head as intense fear started to well up inside of him. "N-No..please...no!"

"Oh don't worry. I'll be a little more gentle this time." Taima said.

"No! Don't! Please!" Snap pleaded, but his cries fell on deaf ears.

Taima took him over to the bed. Despite his fear, Snap increased his struggles. But to his horror, it wasn't working. When Taima got close enough, he pulled his arms back and thrust him against the bed. Snap let out a cry as his body hit against the soft yet firm surface, bouncing a little bit. The bed creaked with his weight. He remained there, flat on his back, his arms out at his sides.

Taima walked towards him quickly, closing the gap too fast for the small zoner to react. Snap looked up at Taima, shivering, looking into those eyes of hatred and sick, twisted amusement. Snap didn't attempt to move, keeping the submissive posture, underside exposed, out of fear of pissing off Taima. The dominant zoner grinned at this, clearly pleased. Then he lifted up a finger and twirled it around in circles.

"Onto your stomach, Snap." Taima commanded.

Snap widened his eyes, knowing full well what this meant. But he knew he had no choice. Whimpering and crying the whole time, the zoner shifted himself until he was on his stomach.

"Good boy. Now..hold still..."

Snap heard footsteps as Taima got even closer. He felt a shadow fall upon him, and then the bed shifted as more weight was added to it. Snap flinched as he could feel Taima getting on him, stradling him. Soon, Taima held Snap down with the weight of his body. Snap attempted to squirm, the weight making it a little harder for him to breathe, but Taima would not move.

Taima then reached down and grabbed one of his legs. Snap winced at this, his legs not yet fully healed. The fingernails pressed against the still healing burns, causing him to let out a few cries of pain.

Then, without warning, Taima began to twist the ankle. Snap's eyes widened to the point where he thought they were going to roll out. He let out a series of screams, struggling, pounding the bed, as Taima twisted his damaged leg cruelly.

"Please! Stop! Stop this! Don't do this! Please!" Snap cried out in desperation. He struggled on the bed, trying whatever he could to get away. Nothing worked. "Come on, can't we talk about this? Please stop!"

But Taima didn't stop. He continued to twist the ankle as far as he could go. He grinned nastily while he did it. Snap whimpered and cried at this, tears staining his face. This wasn't the first time Taima did this. Taima did this multiple times. This is what he considered to be fun. He knew Taima lied about being more gentle; this was worse than before. He knew that, this time, Taima was not going to stop.

Taima continued to pull and twist the leg. He didn't stop. He just kept going. Then, gathering up all the strength that he could, Taima pushed down on the leg with a sudden, powerful tug. There was a crack, and Snap's screams echoed through the room and reverberated through the hallways. It was only after this that Taima got up from him.

Snap remained on the bed, quivering in agony. Taima had just dislocated his ankle. He could feel it, bent at an odd angle, trembling as pain shot through it. His vision was blurred with his tears. He looked over at where Taima was. He could see that he was standing there, his arm folded. No doubt a smirk was plastered on his face.

He could hear the sound of other prisoners either cheering on Taima, saying how he was finally getting back at the murderer of all those zoners. Though some of them expressed anger, because they wanted to have a go at him. In Snap's pain-riddled mind, however, these harsh words were nothing more than background music, echoing far away.

"There...that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Taima said coldly.

Snap stared at him, sniffling loudly. A few sobs cracked through his throat. He uttered the one word that was on his mind. "..wh-why...?" His voice was coarse and scratchy.

Taima sneered, "I see someone wants more."

Snap paled. "N-No..." The terrified zoner whimpered. "Please..."

Taima raised up his hands, flexing his fingers menacingly. "Too late for..."

The two froze when they heard footsteps down the hall. They were getting louder, closer. Knowing that someone was coming, the two of them looked over at the bars. They wondered if it was one of the guards coming to get one of the other prisoners. But the louder the footsteps got, the more they realized that this individual was coming near the back, where they were.

They soon saw the shadow of the individual, and they soon could tell it was canine. The ears and bushy tail were unmistakenable. After a few seconds, the indvidual came into full view, accompanied by one of the guards, likely for escort. The zoner stopped, and, slowly, turned their head.

Snap took in a sharp intake of air. He couldn't believe it. It was Dr. Gelcro... But..but what was he doing here? What did he want? The expression was unreadable, which did little to comfort him.

"Do you need any assistance?" The guard asked.

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "No... This won't take long..." His voice was a tad more growly than Snap ever heard it. "I'll let you know if anything remains."

Snap felt his heart skip a beat at this. He hardly noticed when Taima backed away, likely terrified by what Dr. Gelcro's words could entail. No remains? Snap shuddered at the thought of that. He stared in fear as Dr. Gelcro opened up the door. Snap's heart pounded against his heart as the doctor shut the door behind him and approached him.

Snap struggled on the bed, trying to get away. His good leg kicked against the blanket, knocking it partly off. He tried to get up, but as soon as he put pressure on his bad leg, he let out a scream and he collapsed against the bed. He curled up into a ball, his cheeks stinging as the tears stained it, tinting it red. Unable to go anywhere, he looked up at Dr. Gelcro with wide, terrified eyes.

"Hold still, Snap. This won't take long." Dr. Gelcro said. He reached down behind him, removing whatever was attached to the leather strap around his body.

Snap shook his head. "No..please don't do it..." Snap whispered, his voice cracked in emotion.

"I'm sorry Snap." Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. To Snap's horror, he pulled out what looked to be a large gun. It had a broad tip, had some lights on it, and looked positively lethal. "But there's no other way."

Snap shook his head, crying softly. He stared at the doctor pleadingly, silently begging him not to do it. But as Dr. Gelcro aimed the thing at him, he knew there was nothing he could do. Snap knew this was it. He was not going to see his friends anymore. He was not going to see another day. And he couldn't stop it. All he could do was close his eyes and accept fate.

He heard the click of the trigger being pulled. He heard the device hum to life. He heard the sound of the blast ringing in his ears. The last thing he felt before darkness graciously braced him was a flash of pain throughout his body. Then nothing.


	30. Innocense

You know, every world will have its test. Don't blame for what I have become!

-With Me, Crush 40

sss

Taima was in absolute shock. He had a hard time comprehending what he had just seen. Even though his eyes could clearly see it, a part of him was in denial.

What prompted the doctor to shoot Snap like that? He never heard of jails operating like this. He never heard of jails performing executions in the cells where other prisoners could see them. He couldn't think of a time when such a thing was done without future notice. Snap hadn't even gotten to the trial yet.

But that didn't stop the doctor from attacking him. Snap looked lifeless, laying prone on the ground. He had convulsed when he was blasted with the bright orange energy and fallen off. He hadn't moved in the past several minutes. Neither did the doctor, who stood over him, watching him carefully, as if he was expecting something. Taima couldn't tell if the doctor intended to kill him or if the blast was just a warning or something.

Either way, it was still a shock that this happened at all. He had tow onder just what was on the doctor's mind. There had to be something that prompted him to attack like that.

Did Snap take away someone from him too? Did Snap have an escape plan and he was just punishing him? Was there something else that he didn't know?

Well he wasn't going to get any answers just sitting around here. He licked his lips nervously, knowing that he was going to have to go over and try to get the bottom of it. Not like he truly cared for Snap. That zoner was the reason why his sister was gone. Snap murdered her. He would never forgive him for that. But he was worried about the doctor's seemingly unprovoked attack, and he needed to make sure this doctor was not insane or anything.

"Hey..." Taima spoke up. The dog doctor didn't look at him. Taima tried again. "Hello?" The dog doctor gave him a sideways glance. "Why did you do it?"

The doctor stared at him, twitching his ears. He didn't answer right away. The expression on his face was a combination of seriousness and solemness. A combination that was quite telling, and told him volumes of the doctor's intentions. This was obviously something that he felt had to be done. But why? What would prompt him to do this?

"There was no other way." The doctor replied. He turned his head away and looked down at Snap's still form. "It would have been difficult to do it otherwise. It would have required moving him, and it would be hard to strike a deal with this place."

"Move him, doctor?" Taima tilted his head. "Why would you want to move this criminal out of here?"

The doctor gritted his teeth at this. Taima wondered if he touched a sore spot. He took a step back. If the doctor decided to attack him with that... Much to his relief, the doctor lowered it, and with a grip as loose as that, he could tell that the doctor had no intentions on using it on him. "It would have been safer to perform a surgery on him. But that would have caused some problems."

Taima furrowed his eyes. "Well yeah. The people out there wouldn't take too kindly of you taking Snap out of here...uhh...doctor..." He pointed his finger at him. "What's your name?"

"Call me Dr. Gelcro."

"Okay then, Dr. Gelcro." Taima took a moment to realize that it was this doctor who had informed him before of Snap's scan turning up negative. Or maybe it was a doctor that looked like him. He didn't dwell on that fact long. "You didn't answer my question." He said, taking a step forward. "Why did you want to take Snap out of here?"

"Well it's not that I wanted to, or needed to. It was preferable, but I knew that it wouldn't work." Dr. Gelcro replied. His tail swished from side to side. "It would have just made the surgery easier. This thing here is rather experimental, and it could have gone wrong. I will have to wait and see and make sure it did its job." He turned his head and looked at Taima. "If it did, hopefully we won't have to worry about the signal anymore."

Taima nodded his head slowly, not answering. He let the doctor continue about his business. He leaned against the wall, his eyes focused on Snap. It seemed that the doctor really did come in here to kill Snap. It seemed rather drastic... without a trial and all... He shrugged his shoulders. He didn't care too much, so long as Snap had justice handed to him. It wasn't his concern that he didn't get a trial. At least now, his reign of terror was over and the zoners can move on with their lives.

But this came a little too late for some zoners. His heart twisted as he remembered Galena. She had been such a sweet zoner. A little naive at times, curious by nature, wandering around... He used to be annoyed by her. But then, don't siblings often pick on each other? He had often wanted some peace and quiet, but now that he got it...he'd give anything to hear her high-pitched voice again.

Snap had taken that away from him. Snap had robbed him of his sibling. He had stolen it all... The thought still heated up his blood, burning him on the inside. The only comfort he could take is that Snap was gone now. He would never rise again. He would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.

Then he noticed something. A small sound eminating in the room. It wasn't from him, and it wasn't from Dr. Gelcro. It took him a bit to realized that it was groaning...and it was coming from...Snap.

No, it couldn't be... Did the doctor fail? Was Snap truly that indestructable? The stick figure's heart began to pound against his chest. He looked on, his eyes having a slight tinge of fear to them, as Snap's body began to move. He looked at this, wondering just how the heck he had survived the attack.

He looked over at the doctor. To his confusion, Dr. Gelcro didn't seem faced. He couldn't tell if the doctor didn't notice or if he was being brave or whatever it could have been. Taima smacked his lips together nervously, thoughts racing through his mind. If Snap could survive that blast, what else was he capable of? Was this how he survived the explosion he had set up a few weeks ago? He needed to get Dr. Gelcro out of there before Snap could make his counterattack.

"Dr. Gelcro!" Taima called out as he moved towards him. "Get out of the way! He'll..." Dr. Gelcro raised up his hand, halting his advance. Taima took in a few breaths, tilting his head in confusion. "Dr. Gelcro? What are you...?"

"I want to see if it worked." Said Dr. Gelcro.

"Well...it obviously didn't." Taima hissed at him. Was he really that blind? "He's still moving!"

"That's what I was hoping for." Dr. Gelcro said, keeping his eye on Snap.

"What..?" Taima questioned. "B-But I thought that..."

Dr. Gelcro glanced at him quickly. "I was not trying to kill him."

Taima was taken aback by this. He took a few steps back, staring at the doctor dog in confusion. He stammered as he tried to ask a coherent question. So far, nothing would come out. He was just babbling as his confused mind tried to think of what else the doctor could have been doing. If he hadn't been trying to kill Snap...then..what was..?

"What were you doing?" Taima managed to say, taking in a few, shaky breaths. "What were you trying to accomplish then? Do you want Snap to have a reason to hurt you?" He lowered his head. "Just like how he hurt me..."

Dr. Gelcro kept his eyes glued to Snap. Taima frowned at this, not liking to be ignored. He opened his mouth and attempted to speak, but Dr. Gelcro merely lifted up his paw, a silent message for him to shut up. He obligued. "I'll explain it to you in due time. Don't worry. It'll all make sense soon."

Taima stared at him. He glanced nervously towards Snap. "I..hope you're right..."

The two zoners watched as Snap stirred on the ground. Then, slowly, his eyes opened up.

sss

Snap was so confused, his mind muggy and achey. He couldn't remember where he was exactly, not right away. He blinked his eyes open, and he was instantly greeted with blurs of colors and shapes. He felt a chilliness in the air, and he knew right away he was not in the hospital or back at home. He was...somewhere else.

The place had a dank smell to it. The smell went through his nostrils, assaulting his senses. It was not a pleasant smell. He let out a cough in reflex. He detected that he was on something hard..and cold. The ground, perhaps? Was he on the ground? Why? How did he get here?

The zoner let out a soft groan as he detected that there was some kind of pain going through his head right now. A dull ache that dominated the front of his head, as if he had been smacked real hard. He lifted up his hand, rubbing his head carefully. What confused him was that the pain seemed to come from more than one place. He could feel something in his leg, too. No, both of them. A dull ache for the most part, but some sharp pain, especially in the one leg.

What had happened to him? Why did his body ache? Why did he feel like someone just tasered him? Why was he so weak? Where were his friends? These questions and more rang through his mind.

He could see a dark shape coming towards him. Black and white, and a bit of red, small dots of crimson. They stared down at him, making eye contact with him. Snap opened his mouth to speak, but at first, all he could do was slur. He smacked his lips a few times as he tried to comprehend his situation.

He saw the dark blur moving in front of him. He blinked his eyes a few times. They slowly started to focus, but not too much. He wobbled his head from side to side, a bit of dizziness starting to overtake him. He grabbed his head, gripping the ground tightly, as he tried to resettle himself before he toppled over again. It was no use and he found himself rolling onto his side as he tried to cope with the unexpected dizziness.

When he looked up, he could see a sharper image of the figure, but all he could make out was that it was some kind of dog with black and white fur. It was holding something out in front of it.

Then it spoke. "Hey, Snap? How many fingers am I holding up?"

The voice was so...echoey. Snap could have sworn he heard many voices at once, speaking in almost perfect harmony. The voice seemed so familiar...yet he could not place it. Where had he heard his voice before? Why did it seem so familiar?

He remembered the echoing words had asked him a question. He looked up at the thing the figure was holding out in front of him. A hand. The things he saw sticking out, they must be fingers. He stared at it, trying to focus. The dizziness still had some hold of him, however, and now he saw something waving all around him, going this way and that. Snap's head wobbled around as he tried to focus, but he found that this was impossible. He gave the only answer he could think of.

"...s-s-six..?"

The figure lowered their hand down and shook his head. "You are still out of it. I will give you time to recover. Don't worry. It won't take long."

The voice sounded less echoey that time, but he still could not place the voice. His vision was slowly clearing up, and some of the aches were starting to vanish. He pushed himself up onto his hands, and he leaned back. He let out a yelp of surprise when he felt his back hit against something solid, yet soft. A bed... He leaned against it, letting out a few groans as his tired mind tried to recover.

It took some time before his vision cleared up. He blinked a few times, lifting up his head and looking around. Yes, he remembered now. A prison. He had been arrested. He could feel his mind clearing up some more. Some things were still muggy, but he was remembering some things. Like Taima... He winced when he saw the zoner. He had hurt him badly earlier.

He froze when he saw who it was standing over him. The zoner stared down at him, his expression largely unreadable. Snap wanted to get away, but he suddenly became aware of all the pain that he was in. He froze in terror, looking up at the zoner in fear.

"D-Dr...Gelcro..." Snap managed to say, gritting his teeth. "What are you doing here?"

Dr. Gelcro's expression softened up. He moved closer to Snap. The small zoner cringed away, uncertain of what to expect from the husky zoner. What exactly did he have planned for him? What was he up to this time? The dog zoner didn't appear to threaten him, but Snap was not going to lower his guard.

"It is okay, Snap. I am not going to hurt you." Dr. Gelcro said. He reached forward and he placed his paw on top of his head gently. "I know that you are innocent."

"Wh-Wh-What?!" Spluttered Taima.

Snap blinked, just as confused as Taima. Wasn't Dr. Gelcro one of the doctors who had blamed him before? He recalled how nasty he had been. What had prompte this change in attitude?

Dr. Gelcro gave a small, faint smile. "What do you remember, Snap?"

Snap tilted his head in confusion. Why was the doctor asking him that? Was this all a trick? Was Dr. Gelcro just trying to mess with him? The thought of that made Snap a little angry. He had been through so much lately. He didn't need to...

Wait a minute..

How was it he could remember this...?

Wasn't he...?

Snap could remember that, for days on end, he could hardly remember anything that happened from before he woke up. He remembered that this had been going on for a while. But this time around, when he woke up, he could remember a lot more than he did in the past. He recalled that, before, if he'd wake up from being knocked out, his mind would not recall anything that happened, and his memory would be wiped clean of whatever happened the previous day.

But now... Something changed. He felt as though his mind had been opened up. He could practically feel shockwaves of...something...washing through him, intermixing with his nerves, and making his brain seem to untie itself.

Then it happened. Something he thought was never going to happen these past few weeks. Something that was finally going to turn the tides on the whole case, and bring about proper justice, to the one who deserves it the most.

He remembered what Sandra had done. He remembered the explosion. He remembered everything.

"Well?" Dr. Gelcro asked, his voice a hopeful tone. "Did it work? Do you remember?"

Snap nodded his head. "Yes... I know what happened."

sss

"I know what happened."

Never before had Dr. Gelcro been so glad to hear those words. He felt his heart begin to flutter as happiness spread through him. He did his best to control the smile that was spreading across his face. He couldn't forget that he was on a mission here.

There was some biting feelings of guilt inside of him. He felt bad for how he had acted towards Snap. But right now, he couldn't focus on that. He pushed the bitter thoughts aside, reminding himself of his mission, what he came here to do. He came here to find out what happened once and for all. He came here to put a name and face to the one who had truly been the root of all their problems.

And now that the device he used had worked, now that Snap was able to remember, he was finally going to find out the truth.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Dr. Gelcro asked.

Snap nodded. He rubbed his head with his hand, staring up at him in confusion. "What..what did you do to me..?"

Dr. Gelcro blinked in confusion. It took him seconds to realize what he was talking about. He lifted up the device for him to see. "I used this on you." He looked down at it, stroking it a few times. "Some kind of medical thing a child drew long ago. No one ever had the guts to use it. I took the risk."

"Why?" Snap asked.

"Well..." Dr. Gelcro sucked on his lip. Then he said, "Mosaic brought it to my attention that there was a strange smell coming from your room...your bed. I thought at first, you were up to something. It had taken me a while to recognize the smell. It was then I realized you had something inside you, a tumor, so I grabbed this thing to get rid of it." He flinched. "It was a risk...but it wasn't like I had much of another choice."

Snap tilted his head. "So the tumor that has been blocking my memories is gone now?"

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. "Yeah. Completely gone."

Snap stared at him for a few seconds. They locked eyes with one another. Then, slowly, Snap smiled. "Thank you..."

Dr. Gelcro smiled at this. Seeing Snap smile like this did make him feel good inside. It was a good first step towards amending the wrongs he committed. Once again, he felt the horrible ache of guilt clawing at his heart and chest. He did his best to push it back. He focused on the now. Feeling guilty would do nothing to solve what was going on. Only knowledge and action would.

Dr. Gelcro motioned his hand forward. He didn't say a word. He stared at Snap expectantly, waiting for him to begin explaining. Luckily, Snap got the hint rather quickly, and it didn't take him long to begin explaining what really happened that day.

"I remember...there was a party... It was not long after that...explosion..."

Snap's mind was still a little muggy, it would seem. Dr. Gelcro kept quiet, letting the small zoner continue.

"Sandra had invited me to a party. She sent me an invitation. It was to be the day after I had gotten it. She said it was to be in my honor. She wanted to congratulate me on a job well done. I was so excited for it. I looked forward to the party and seeing the faces of the zoners I had helped. She said it was at Shrapnel Tower, so after my friends and I did some investigation, I went to the party."

This much, Dr. Gelcro pretty much knew. He was aware of the party in Snap's honor. Although he had thought that Snap was the one who set it up. If what Snap said was true, and it was Sandra... He pushed the thoughts aside as Snap went on with his story.

"When I got there, there were so many zoners. I was greeted by several...including his sister." Snap gestured over to where Taima was. The stick figure was quiet, listening intently with wide eyes. "Sandra approached me, and told me she had a surprise for me. I had wanted to wait, figuring it would be more polite that way. But she insisted I come with her. So I did. I followed her into the back hallways for a while. We weren't reaching anything, and I began to wonder if we were lost. So I tried to ask her, and then..."

Dr. Gelcro noticed that Snap's eyes widened. Seeing the expression on his face, the dog zoner realized that Snap must have hit an unpleasant part of his memory. He took a step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ride it out. Take as long as you want to. I will let you take your time, but I need to know this. And you need to talk about this."

"Yeah, I know.." Snap nodded his head. "It's just...hard and..."

"I understand." Dr. Gelcro said.

Snap took in a shaky breath. The dog could have sworn he heard a sniffle from the superhero zoner. He waited patiently for the zoner to continue. He realized how painful this was for him to speak. If he could, he would find another way to find out. But he knew there were limited options. Snap was the only one who witnessed what happened.

Soon Snap seemed to work up the courage to continue. He swallowed dryly and took in a deep breath. He looked at Taima for a second, and then he looked back at Dr. Gelcro. He licked his lips once, and he continued the story.

"There was an explosion. It ripped through the building. I must have passed out. I remember waking up in pain. There was fire and heat everywhere. I was in pain, and I couldn't move. I tried to find out where everyone was...and that's when I saw her."

"Sandra?" Dr. Gelcro asked.

Snap winced at the name. He nodded his head. "Y-Yeah.. She was coming towards me. She looked..kind of remorseful, but the look in her eyes.. I could tell she had meant to do that. She told me...that I crossed the line, that she had no choice...then she.." He gripped his head.

"Take your time." Dr. Gelcro said gently. "Let the words flow forth."

Snap swallowed hard. "She said it won't become a distant memory, and then she put her hand on my head... then I passed out...and I woke up at the hospital." He licked his lips nervously, his eyes darting left and right. He looked up at him. "The rest you know."

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. He didn't say a word. He leaned away from Snap, pressing his back against the bunk bed. Indeed, he did know how the rest went down, at least...enough of it to make a conviction. His mind swirled with thoughts as he realized the implications of what Snap said. If they were true, and after what he smelled, and the device, which only would have knocked Snap out if he did have a tumor... he already had a good idea of what had happened.

It had been Sandra the whole time. Sandra was the one who organized the party. He bet if he searched Snap's tree house, he would find proof of that. He'd find the card that Sandra herself had signed. Sandra was the one who caused the explosions that killed all those innocents. She had placed a tumor in Snap's head. He didn't know how, but somehow she had pulled it off.

He knew what this meant. He knew what all of this was pointing to. There was no denying it.

Sandra had framed Snap.

Not only did she frame him, but she had made it impossible for him to defend himself. She robbed him of those memories of that day. She had made him doubt himself. She had made almost everyone else doubt him, think he was insane or lying. She had manipulated everyone, all so that she could get away with murder while Snap was forced to remain here, locked up and rotting in prison.

And he...he had helped in this endeavor. The dog zoner could not deny it. He was quite guilty himself. He had believed that Snap was lying to everyone, and he had been so convinced that Snap was the one playing everyone for fools...when it was really Sandra who had been doing it. He couldn't shake off the guilty feeling, knowing that he was, in part, responsible for the torment Snap had gone through. He realized that Dr. Crobat had been right the whole time. There really had been something wrong with Snap. There was something up with the scans. Snap really had been a victim this whole time.

He wished he had listened earlier. He wished he would have noticed something was wrong. Instead, he had fallen right into Sandra's hands. He had believed the lies she set up for everyone. He thought that Snap was a monster, when in reality, he was being played like a pawn.

The realization that Sandra had caused all this pain and misery to Snap, to know that she was the one who was behind that machine...it boiled his blood. He couldn't believe that anyone would do such a thing to another zoner. He was furious that he had been played, tricked. He wished he had seen it earlier, see through Sandra's lies, expose her for the monster that she was...

But as angry and guilty as he felt, these would do nothing to stop Sandra. They would do nothing to expose to everyone just what kind of person she really was. They needed to take action, before she was allowed to continue on her horrid scheme.

The question was...just what was she up to?

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he saw the look on Snap's face. He was trembling, his eyes wide in fear. He was obviously thinking about Sandra. The husky couldn't blame him for being afraid. No one in ChalkZone City thought that Sandra could do something like this. She had always been so nice... If she could wipe Snap's memory and force him to suffer all this pain... What else would she do?

Dr. Gelcro moved in closer. He rested down on one knee beside the small zoner. He reached forward, his fingers gently squeezing his arm. Snap looked up at him and cringed. Dr. Gelcro sighed sadly. He had a feeling Snap would not fully recover that quickly from the way he had treated him. It would take a little longer.

"Don't worry, Snap. She won't hurt you again." Dr. Gelcro said, smiling gently. "I promise."

Snap looked at him wide-eyed. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Now that I know the truth, she won't get far." Dr. Gelcro assured him. "And...I..." He bit his lip, turning his head away. Guilt washed over his face. "I'm...sorry...for the way I treated you. It was wrong of me to do."

Snap didn't say a word. He stared at the dog zoner for several moments. Then he smiled. Still no words spoken. But Dr. Gelcro didn't need them to know what the zoner was thinking. Snap had forgiven him. The realization of this caused him to smile, and he felt some weight being lifted off his shoulders.

He soon frowned softly. There was still work to be done. Sandra was out there, somewhere. He still had no clue what she might be up to. What was she using the machine for? How many more innocents did she plan on killing? What was her ultimate scheme? That was what they had to find out.

Dr. Gelcro was about to tell Snap to get up when he realized his ankle was hurt. He looked at it intently, realizing that it appeared dislocated. His eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. He knew who was responsible for this. He shot a glare over at Taima. The stick figure winced and backed off. Dr. Gelcro watched him for a few seconds, making his displeasure known. He then looked down at Snap sadly.

"Snap, we need to go talk to the head warden." Dr. Gelcro said. "We need to tell him what's been going on."

"I-I can't..." Snap whimpered softly. He held onto his leg. "M-My ankle.."

"I know. I'll take care of it." Dr. Gelcro said. He reached over towards Snap. Seeing Snap cringe, he said, "Please don't struggle. Try to relax. I won't be able to do it if you move around too much."

"Is it going to hurt?" Snap asked softly.

"It might. It will hurt less if you don't move." Dr. Gelcro said. "Do you understand?"

"Y-Yeah.." Snap said.

Dr. Gelcro gently grabbed Snap by his shoulders. He pulled him away from the bed. Then, carefully supporting him as he went, he lowered the zoner towards the ground. He pushed his hands underneath Snap's body and lifted him up. He wanted to keep Snap's body straight, as if he lifted him straight up, he would have aggravate the injury.

Once he had Snap on the bottom bunk, he moved around and crawled in from the front. Snap's legs were facing him. He reached forward and grabbed Snap's leg. He stopped when he saw how much he was wincing in pain. He bit his lip, realizing he may need extra help. Snap might not be able to hold still, and if he struggled too much, he might hurt himself more. He didn't want to do it, but there was really only one person he could ask for assistance here.

"Hey you." Dr. Gelcro turned to Taima. He looked over at him. "Yeah you. Come over here."

Taima hesitated. He didn't waste much time, though, and he went over towards him slowly. He had an uncertain look on his face. He kept his head turned away, not looking at either of them.

When he arrived, he said, "...what did you want me to do..?"

Dr. Gelcro pointed his fingers towards Snap and said, "Hold him still. I need to reduce his dislocated leg."

"O-Okay..." Taima said.

Snap whimpered in fear as Taima came close. The tall zoner hesitated, biting his lip, something like guilt washing over his face. A glare from Dr. Gelcro prompted the zoner to move forward. Snap attempted to struggle as Taima was getting closer, but a few soft words of comfort from Dr. Gelcro seemed to be enough to calm him down.

When Taima got close enough, he grabbed Snap's arms and held them down with one hand. He then used his other hand to press down on his chest and stomach, pushing him against the bed.

With Snap secured now, Dr. Gelcro turned his attention to Snap's dislocated ankle. He grabbed onto it, one paw gripping the bottom part of his leg, the other wrapping around his foot. He knew he was aggravating the burn injuries, but there was little ways to do this without touching the damaged skin, and he had forgotten to bring numbing needles. He felt bad about hurting Snap. He could see the pain in his eyes as he applied pressure to his leg. But this had to be done.

"Close your eyes, Snap, and take a deep breath. Try to relax." Dr. Gelcro said. "I will make this as quick as I can."

Dr. Gelcro kept his firm grip on the leg. He mustered up strength in his arm, preparing for the action that needed to be done. He took a few breaths himself. He gave one more sympathetic look to Snap before he took action. With one swift motion, he twisted the ankle, and there was a loud crack.

sss

He couldn't believe it. It had to be some kind of lie, right? Or maybe he misheard? There's no way that...

It could all be a lie, yeah. The doctor, he could have been lying. Maybe he was in cahoots with Snap the whole time. Maybe this was all part of their scheme. Snap could have allies everywhere. Anyone of the zoners could be an ally in disguise. The ones in the mob he was in, they could have been faking it.

But...what if it was true? What if Snap really had been framed? What if he was an innocent, just like the other zoners who had perished in the flames? What if, this whole time, they had been played, tricked by someone none of them thought would do something like this? The possibilities moved through his head, shaking him in a cold chill.

Taima was sitting on the bottom bunk, his head lowered. His hands gently gripped the bed, his wide eyes staring at nothing. If the other prisoners were speaking, he wasn't hearing them. He was lost in his own thoughts.

Today hadn't exactly turned out how he thought. Then again, how could he have prepared for a visit from the doctor? How could he have predicted that said doctor would have shot Snap, seemingly curing him? What could he have done to prepare for the story that Snap had given shortly after? It was all..so much to take in.

Right now, he was alone in the cell. A short time ago, Dr. Gelcro had fixed Snap's leg, popping the ankle back into place. Snap had screamed in pain and nearly passed out. Not long after that, the doctor took him and left the cell to go speak to the head warden, leaving him alone.

Taima was grateful for the solitude. He..he needed some time to think. There was a lot to take in.

Was it..was it possible that he had been tormenting the wrong zoner? The thought left a bad taste in his mouth. He resisted the urge to throw up. He found it hard to believe that they all had played right into Sandra's hands. There was still no proof, and a part of him wanted to believe that Snap was behind all this, and that he was just trying to trick them. But...there was still a chance that he was telling the truth. Should he really dismiss it all, or should he take it into consideration?

Was it really right of him at all to hurt someone like that? Should he have controlled himself more? Perhaps... It was often hard to control the desire for revenge. He thought he had been doing the right thing by hurting the one he felt was responsible.

But what had that done to him in the end? It made him look like a monster. Now he understood why some people say that true strength comes from inaction in the fact of temptation. He had given into the desire of revenge and tortured another zoner just to get back at them. And, in the process, he turned himself into a monster. He had become the very thing he hated. There was no excuse for his behavior.

Galena...what would she think of him now? Those kids were right. She wouldn't agree to this. She would look upon him in shame and disgust. She was too sweet to do something this horrible. She had looked up to him, but if she saw what he had become... She'd probably disown him and he would not blame her.

Tears flowed from Taima's face. Guilt flowed through him, twisting his stomach. He felt a sob crack at his throat. He pulled his legs onto the bunk bed. He leaned his body forward and he rested his chin on his knees.

There was no one to blame but him. He had initiated those horrible attacks on Snap. Regardless if he were innocent or guilty, Taima realized that hurting Snap was the wrong thing to do. He closed his eyes, letting the tears of shame sting his face. He ignored what the other cellmates said as he cried to himself.

In seconds, he rolled to the side, landing on the bed. He sniffled and curled his body inward. He became lost in his thoughts, lost in his tears and crying, and just laid there. The cell filled with the echoes of sobs, and this time, it wasn't Snap who was crying.

sss

"Absolutely not." Okoth said, folding his arms, his dragon tail twitching. "I cannot allow it."

"What?! Why not?!" Dr. Gelcro snarled at him.

"Because..." Okoth glanced down at Snap. And then back to Dr. Gelcro. "It is all circumstantial. I can't just let him walk free that easily. You need to provide proof."

"I just told you what happened!" Dr. Gelcro snapped at him. "Are you saying it's not good enough?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Okoth growled.

Snap watched this dislpay in silence. He hadn't attempted to speak. He was in too much pain, too stunned, do think of what to say. He feared he might end up making things worse. He knew that he was hated here. He had seen the way the zoners here looked at him. Would they take anything he said seriously? Probably not.

He was still trying to recover from what had happened recently. This day...it had been some rollercoaster. He had been tortured by Taima again. The stick figure had dislocated his ankle. The pain from that radiated through his leg, making him whimper. Then Dr. Gelcro showed up and shot him with something that made the tumor in his head go away. Dr. Gelcro had apparently realized he was innocent and came to help him. The memories all flowed back through him, and Snap told the husky everything. Then Dr. Gelcro, with Taima's help, had reduced his ankle, which was incredibly painful, and now here they were, trying to speak to the head warden.

Snap had to lean against his cane to keep himself from falling over. Even then, he could feel the pain moving through his legs, especially the one with the recently reduced ankle. Tears of pain formed in his eyes as he tried to cope with it. It wasn't as bad as before. He wasn't going to pass out or anything. But it was still horrible.

He watched as Dr. Gelcro tried to reason with the warden. Okoth seemed hellbent on keeping him in prison. Dr. Gelcro had told him all about what Sandra had done, and how she had been tricking and lying to them all. But Okoth wouldn't have any of it, and insisted that they provide proof. How they were going to do that, he wasn't sure.

"Come on now, be reasonable." Dr. Gelcro pleaded. "Let him go. He doesn't belong here."

Okoth shook his head. He bared his sharp teeth. "That isn't the way things are run around here."

"But he is innocent!" Dr. Gelcro cried.

Okoth snorted. "It doesn't matter. The law is the law." He pointed a finger at the husky. "If you want him to be able to leave, you need to provide a good case. Besides..." He folded his arms against his chest. "The runt needs to be present at the trial tomorrow. There's no getting around that."

"Do you have any idea what Sandra is going to do?!" Dr. Gelcro leaned closer, staring at the dragon intently, his face close to his.

Okoth narrowed his eyes. "No..." He leaned forward. He pressed a claw against Dr. Gelcro's shoulder, causing the husky to wince. "But neither do you..." The dragon pushed the husky back. "So go trample on your own tail."

Snap watched this in silence. The mention of Sandra sent a cold chill down his spine. He still found it hard to believe that she had been the one to do this to him the whole time. She was the one who had tormented him, hurt him, made him forget...and all this time, he thought that...

Snap found it hard to keep back the tears of anger and betrayal. He wasn't able to stop a few from escaping his eyes, rolling down his cheeks, staining his orange prison uniform. He could feel the burning anger grind at his stomach, trying to claw its way out. He could feel his body shake a little as he realized just how much he had been manipulated and fooled.

He thought he could trust Sandra. He thought that she was a friend. He thought he could tell her everything. She had acted like she had cared about him. She comforted him in his time of need. She had offered help where others turned their backs on him. And to learn that it was all a filthy lie... He couldn't help but form a fist with his free hand, shaking it.

How could she do this to him? How could she hurt him so much? He had helped her. He had tried to be her friend. He thought they were friends. She had been grateful for his help. And this was how she treated him? By using him as a pawn to escape trouble? It was sickening...

He needed to confront her. He needed Sandra to listen to what he had to say. There was a lot he wanted to tell her. He needed to spread the word of the truth so that they all knew what kind of person she was. She needed to be brought to justice so that all those who suffered because of her could finally get some closer.

Despite the fact that he was still reeling from the betrayal and hurt, even though a part of him was still stunned and shocked by this revelation, he knew what had to be done. He knew that Sandra needed to be arrested. He pushed aside his own personal feelings, filling his insides with the drive and determination to finally close this case once and for all.

But before he can do that, he needed to get out of this place. He needed to convince Okoth. He stared at the dragon, watching as he continuously argued with Dr. Gelcro. He bit his lip. He hoped that a solution was figured out soon.

sss

"Mint!" Rudy shouted in horror as he and Penny watched the terrifying scene.

"Stop it, Sandra!" Penny pleaded with her, but the dragon simply ignored her. "Please! Stop it!"

But Sandra didn't listen. She paid little attention to what Rudy and Penny were saying. Her eyes were focused solely on Mint. There was a primal look in her eyes, the urge to take action. And it was clear that nothing was going to shake her from this. Not even a threat.

Rudy felt his heart pound against his chest. He watched the scene before him, unable to look away. Sandra was attacking Mint. She knocked him into the ground, and was beating him with one of his own crutches, one of the crutches that had been drawn for him. Again and again, she slammed it into his back. Each time it hit, Mint would let out a cry of pain. He struggled on the ground, trying to get away, but it was no use. Sandra had him pinned down affectively. He was not going anywhere.

The scene before him made his heart ache. Seeing someone, especially a friend, getting hurt like this was too much for him to bear. He wanted to do something, he wanted to go get Mint out of there. But he couldn't, and neither could Penny. Despite their strong desire to save Mint, there was nothing they could do.

During the fight, after she had knocked Mint back off his crutches, Sandra had noticed them attempting to help their friend. She would have none of it, and she used her healing powers on them again. The two screamed as they fell to the ground, and before they knew it, Sandra had tied them up. Where she got the rope was not of their concern. What they were more worried about was the fact that Mint was in trouble, and they could do nothing now that their arms were tied behind their backs and their magic chalk confiscated.

Mint had fought bravely against her. Despite his predicament, he had still held his ground pretty well. He had managed to draw a few things to help in his fight against Sandra, such as a robotic constricting snake and a self-shooting water balloon. But nothing held her back for long, and she managed to gain the upperhand.

Rudy remembered the anger he felt when Sandra decided to play unfair and used her powers to strike pain into Mint. This distracted the boy long enough for her to get his magic chalk away from him, rendering him even more helpless. She picked up one of his crutches and began to hit him with it.

Mint was still on the ground, struggling, crying out in pain. He looked up at Sandra, making pleas for mercy. She ignored them all and just continued to strike him as if he said nothing. She growled at him, baring her sharp teeth. It didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon.

"Sandra! Stop it!" Rudy shouted as loud as he could.

Sandra's ears twitched at this. But she did not stop. Not yet. She pulled the crutch up once more, and, with a snarl, struck down. It hit against the side of Mint's head. The young teenager's body stiffened up at this and he let out a howl of pain. Rudy and Penny gasped in horror at just how hard he had been struck. It was a miracle he didn't pass out.

At least, Sandra appeared to listen to them. She let out a few growls before she got up from Mint. She took a few steps back away from him, glaring at him for a few moments. Mint looked up at her and let out a pained whimper. She growled at him, causing him to cringe. Satisfied by this reaction, she smirked and turned away from him. She headed back towards Rudy and Penny.

"How could you do that...?" Rudy hissed at her. "How could you beat up someone who missing part of their leg?"

Sandra tilted her head, then shrugged. "Well, he was armed. So it wasn't like he was helpless or anything. Besides..." Her ears lowered. "The brat was asking for it."

"He was just trying to help us!" Penny cried. "You were the one who..."

Sandra cut her off. "He should have kept his mouth shut. He was spilling nonsense."

Rudy growled at this. "He was just telling the truth! He was calling you out on the horrible things you did!"

Sandra waved a dismissive hand. "All rubbish talk. He doesn't know what he's talking about..." She folded her arms against her chest. "You all don't know what you're saying. None of you understand where I'm coming from, nor will you even try. How sickening..."

Rudy would have formed a fist and slammed it into the ground if he weren't tied up. "What are you talking about?! You're the one who committed those crimes! You're the one who tormented our friend! You're the one who beat up a disabled person! And you have the gall to say we just don't understand?!"

Sandra stared at him, glaring softly. She curled her lip up partially, showing her sharp teeth. "I already tried explaining it to you. And all you care about is..."

"We care about helping our friend!" Penny snapped at her.

"Indeed you are. So am I." Sandra said. "I am helping Snap. I am trying to make him see the error of his ways. I want him to know how I felt when he destroyed my machine, when he betrayed me. I am teaching him an important lesson." She raised her head up, her ears moving upwards. "Trust me, he will become a better person for it. Then we can all move on with our lives."

"You're disgusting..." Penny said, her eyes narrowed into slits. "You really think you're doing Snap, or anyone else, any good? You hurt him! You hurt all of us! How does that help us?!"

Sandra chuckled. "Sometimes pain is the best motivator, girl. Pain sticks. By using pain, I can guarantee that he will never forget this experience."

Rudy struggled against his binds. "You're a monster!"

Sandra tilted her head at this, raising one ear up. "You still call me that? How rude..." She shook her head. She gave Rudy a saddened look. "I tried to explain to you what I'm doing, and how it's for the best, you still won't listen to me. You still view me as the enemy. I wish I didn't have to be this way." She let out a sigh, leaning back, her tail swishing slowly from side to side. "All I am doing is upholding a promise. How could you think that was so wrong?"

"Because you're hurting people!" Rudy snapped, clenching his teeth tightly. "You're tortuing innocents, and you killed so many! There's no way to justify that!"

"Except with a promise."

"Only in your twisted world!"

Sandra shook her head. "Still only looking at the small picture I see. I should have realized you would be too naive to realize the truth." Sandra turned her back to them. "The world works in mysterious ways as you know. One of the things you should know is how it operates by rules that seem strange, but make sense once you know them. And one of the rules is that a promise should always be uphold, for it tests the integrity of the individual. Any shattering of the promise destroys that intregity and is a violation of the rules."

"You can't honestly believe that..." Rudy said softly.

"In what world does that make any sense?" Penny called out.

"Why, this one of course." Sandra held up her hand in gesture. She looked up towards the ceiling. She gave a smile. "I learned that myself, not long after I was created. Honesty will get you somewhere. Keeping promises, no matter how brutal, will get you everywhere." She looked over her shoulder at them, her smile broadening. She reached down with her tail and cupped Penny's chin. "I wish you two would see reason. I wish you would understand what I was trying to do." She then cupped Rudy's chin with her tail. He winced as the spikes were pressed against him. "We could all get along much better if you would take the time to see things from my perspective."

"That would be a terrifying experience." Rudy said bitterly.

Sandra narrowed her eyes and growled. Then she softened her expression quickly and gave a quick chuckle. "Sometimes, Rudy, your naivity amuses me." She turned herself around. She raised her back up, her tail rising into the air. She took a step forward, one foot out in front of her, as she placed a hand against her chest, grinning. "You cannot blame me for the rules. I didn't create them. I simply follow them." With that, she whirled around and began to walk away.

"You bitch..." Rudy growled under his breath.

Sandra raised her ears at this, freezing in her spot. She turned her head and glared down at Rudy. "What was that...?"

Rudy didn't bother to answer her. He simply glared back at her, baring his teeth. He made it fully clear that he was not happy with her. Penny did the same. Even Mint and Doofus Rudy, who were both terrified, were glaring at her. Sandra hardly paid attention to them, and stared only at Rudy, growling softly.

Rudy would never understand the way zoners like Sandra thought. He couldn't understand just how she could be created with this kind of mindset, or what drove her to adopt such a heinous way of thinking. Yeah, he would agree that keeping a promise was important, but not if it meant hurting someone. How could Sandra think like this? How could she twist the meaning of a promise and use it to harmful ends?

It was sickening how she kept on trying to justify her actions. It boiled his blood knowing that she was doing whatever she could to justify what she did. She refused to see that she was wrong. She refused to accept that it was she who had been mistaken. She didn't see faults in her own actions, yet she saw plenty of them in others.

She was a sick, vile person, a twisted fiend. She needed to be locked away, where she couldn't hurt anyone again. He struggled harder, trying to get free. He was supposed to be the guardian for ChalkZone, its protector. He had to save it from this new threat. He just had to...

Sandra looked like she was going to snap at them again, but she appeared to have calmed herself down. She was looking at him with that saddened expression from before. He did not give her any sympathy. "You should just relax. Snap's torment will end soon. I'm certain he'll see the light, and he'll apologize to me when he sees what he has done."

"Apologize to you?!" Penny cried in shock. "How about you apologize to him!"

"Because I am doing nothing wrong." Sandra said simply.

Although Rudy wanted to retort, he held back. Sandra was not going to listen. He had something else he wanted to say. "You are sure he would apologize to you?"

"Of course. He is my friend after all." Sandra said. Rudy and Penny growled at this, Mint and Doofus Rudy looking at her in disgust. Of course she would still try to claim she was Snap's friend. "After he apologizes and I forgive him, we'll mend everything up and it'll be fine."

"What if he doesn't learn his lesson?" Rudy asked, narrowing his eyes into slits. "What if we turn out to be right? What then?"

Sandra widened her eyes in shock at this. She seemed stunned, as if she hadn't expected that kind of question. After she recovered ,shaking her head once, she replied, "Then I guess I have no choice but to kill him." Rudy widened his eyes in horror, his friends looking equally terrified. "I can make sure he gets convicted and dies of lethal injection."

"How dare you!" Shouted Penny.

"How could you do that?!" Rudy snapped.

Sandra cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, I didn't invent the way the world works. It is you two..." She pointed at them. "..who brush off the rules like they are nothing. You're both disgusting..." She snarled at them for a few seconds before she smiled again. "But good news. I won't let your friend go to waste if I decide I should mercy kill him."

"Mercy kill?!" Rudy struggled harder. "You call this mercy?!"

Sandra chuckled at this. She then went on with what she was talking about before. "You see, if I do end up killing Snap, I will use his meat in a new recipe." Rudy and his friends stared at her in horror. "Nothing tastes better than the meat from a friend. Especially a friend who is terrified." She put her fingertips together. "Oh I'm sure my customers will love it!"

Rudy couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Sandra..she truly did have a sick mind. He exchanged glances with his friends, including Doofus Rudy. All of them had a message of horror and disbelief in their eyes. But also anger. They were all furious with what this monster had done, furious that she is acting like she was doing nothing wrong.

How could she treat a friend like this? How could she treat anyone like this? She didn't care about Snap. She didn't care for his safety. She just saw him as a piece of meat. She dehumanized all the zoners, seeing them as walking hamburgers. They wouldn't be surprised if she began to see humans as a delicacy, too, wanting to try to eat them sometime. A risky move due to the Real World properties. But they didn't doubt that she would be crazy enough to try something like that.

Rudy was not going to let her get away with this. He was not going to let her kill Snap. He was not going to let her continue to torture him all for some stupid promise. He was not going to give her a chance to hurt any other zoners. He would stop her.

Somehow, someway, he would.

"S-Snap would.." Doofus Rudy spoke up. Sandra looked over at him. "If he found out what you did to Doofus Penny, he would run away from you. H-He's too smart to think you're a friend. A friend does not eat a friend."

Sandra stared at him, twitching her once. "And you are an expert?" She said as she moved her body around to face him.

Despite his fearful expression, Doofus Rudy was putting up a front. He nodded his head in confirmation. "He would report you. He's a good citizen. He'd call the cops and send you away."

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "What would you know about friendship? You're just a worthless little retard. You have no place in this world. Your only use..." Her mouth ticked into a dark smile. "...is food."

Rudy, Penny, and Mint gasped in terror as Sandra began to advance on the little zoner.

Doofus Rudy widened his eyes in fear. He attempted to get up. He screamed as he fell back down, pain still wracking and twisting through his body. He looked up at Sandra, shivering. "Please, don't hurt me..."

Sandra just smiled twistedly. "You have no friends. No one cares about you. They just see a stupid little boy running around, surprised that he's still alive. Let me rectify that..." Doofus Rudy widened his eyes, staring at her pleadingly. "You are just cattle. So be a good little boy and let me...harvest you." Her voice got deep and growly at this. "Allow me to give you a real purpose in ChalkZone."

"N-No..please..." Doofus Rudy pleaded. But Sandra did not listen to him.

"Leave him alone!" Penny cried.

"S-Stop...!" Mint managed to say, seething in pain.

"Don't do it!" Rudy shouted, his eyes wide.

But their cries fell on deaf ears. The only thing the human children could do was watch in terror as Sandra advanced menacingly towards Doofus Rudy, the intent to kill shining brightly in her eyes.


	31. To Make A Sacrifice

End your grief with me. There's another way. Release your life! Take your place inside the fire with her!

-Inside The Fire, Disturbed

sss

Oh no...what was he going to do..? He couldn't stay here forever. He had to get moving. But the pain...he could feel it coursing through his body, paralyzing him. Even the very act of just lifting his arm left him frozen in agony.

Ahead of him, Doofus Rudy could see the evil zoner coming his way. He could see the intent to harm in those eyes. The pupils were shrunk, yet looked so deep it was like an abyss. That small bit of blackness that could still be seen seemed to go on for eternity. It was like he could see the depths of her soul...and he wasn't liking what he was seeing.

Doofus Rudy looked left and right, trying to figure out what he was going to do. He could barely get up. He was in too much pain. Yet...he had to fight against it. He had to fight the urge to collapse, push past the pain, and get up. There was nothing else that could save him now. He had to make a move.

Rudy, Penny, and Mint would not be able to help him. They lost their magic chalk. Rudy and Penny were still bound on the ground. He could see them squirming, trying to get up to help him. Yet on the ground they still remained. Even if they were to get up, they'd be easily knocked down again. And Mint...his fake leg was missing, he could tell. He wondered what happened to it. He had crutches, but they were tossed away from him. All he could do now was crawl on the ground, dragging his belly across the floor. The process was slow, and if Sandra caught him, he'd stand no chance.

Luckily for Mint, and unluckily for him, Sandra's attention was no longer on the children. It was on him, and only him.

Sandra continued walking towards him slowly, menacingly. She had her body hunched, tail raised evenly and straight above the ground. Her hands were raised up at her sides, her feather fingers pointed downward. Her teeth flashed, grinning evilly in his direction. He could see the individual sharp teeth. Small, pointed, ready to rip into his flesh. If he didn't get up, he was going to be dead meat real fast.

Doofus Rudy struggled up to his feet. He let out a few howls of pain, the agony twirling around, keeping him in its tight grasp. Doofus Rudy hissed and staggered, nearly falling over. He clutched his arm to himself, pressing his body against the shelf. He looked over at Sandra, his eyes widening in fear as he saw she was picking up the pace.

After a while of struggling, Doofus Rudy found himself back on his feet. He wobbled a little, and he pushed himself against the shelf again, unable to take a step forward. He took in a few shaky breaths, looking over at the approaching dragon in fear.

"I promise I will make this quick." Sandra hissed at him. She paused her advancement, lifting up one of her feet. "I just need a good angle, and these babies will do the rest."

Doofus Rudy let out a low whine as he watched Sandra flex her claws. The sharp talons glinted in the small light of the room, and he could see, even from this distance, how sharp they were. He had flashbacks to his grevious encounter with her that led him to this place. She had seized him when he least expected it, and he found himself being tossed around like a rag doll.

The way she used her feet...it was as though they were another pair of hands. So nimble and flexible, just like her real hands. Except for one thing. While her hands weren't capable of doing must scratching, her feet were armed with long sharp claws that could easily tear into flesh.

And now she was intending on using those same sharp claws against him again, this time for keeps. He could already feel the claws against his throat, slicing into his meat, causing him to choke on his own blood... He wondered if that was how Doofus Penny met her end. Was she slaughtered in the same way? Just how did Sandra succeed in taking her? As much as the answers frightened him, it was something a part of him wanted to know. It was, what the other zoners would say, closure.

"Think fast."

Doofus Rudy's eyes widened in horror as something shiny and metal came spiraling in his direction. He let out a scream and moved his body to the side, despite the pain. He could hear a loud clunk sound, and something tearing. He felt something sharp against his skin. He froze where he was, his eyes shut tightly, whimpering. After a few seconds, he dared to open his eyes.

He could see there was a large knife right beside him. His eyes filled with horror as he saw just how close it was to cutting into his flesh. He shivered hard, unable to move or speak. Only stammers escaped his throat. He looked over at Sandra.

"What? Surprised?" Sandra asked, furrowing her eyes. Then she nodded her head, chuckling. "Oh of course you are. I never told anyone. But for...self defense reasons, I sometimes carry a couple knives with me." She straightened herself up. She pushed up her cape, revealing a couple knives that were hidden underneath the thick cloth. "I'm sure you didn't know that about me, right?"

Doofus Rudy still couldn't speak. He tried to, but his words choked in his throat. He gulped and nodded his head a couple times.

Sandra just smiled at this. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. Nobody ever seemed to notice them. And I admit...they fit so nicely, and I'm so used to them...I sometimes forget they are there."

Doofus Rudy watched as Sandra reached underneath the cape. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of another knife, this one a tad larger than the one stuck by his shoulder. She held it up in the air with two fingers, looking at him in the eyes. She then let go of it and, faster than Doofus Rudy could detect, she snatched it with her foot. Despite his fear, Doofus Rudy couldn't help but feel some sense of amazement at how skillfully Sandra had been able to do that, and without scratching herself either.

Sandra stared intently at him, the smile spreading across her face. The words of the children went ignored by her. Even as the trio pleaded with her not to hurt him, still her eyes were only on him. Doofus Rudy pressed his back firmly against the shelf. He looked at his shoulder, seeing how the blade was still caught in his shirt cloth. He then looked back at Sandra. He watched in horrified awe as she flipped the knife in the air a few times, catching it effortlessly with her foot each time, the ankle and leg twisting around as if it were an arm. He then attempted to free himself, grabbing and tugging on the cloth, trying to dislodge the knife.

With a quick chuckle, Sandra tossed the knife in his direction. The sound of whirling metal filled his ears.

"Look out!" Mint shouted.

"Doofus Rudy!" Cried Rudy and Penny.

Doofus Rudy, his hand still gripping the knife's handle, tilted his head upwards, just enough for him to see the new blade coming towards him. His eyes widened in terror and he attempted to get out of the way. He cried out in pain as his effort to escape cased him to jerk back, the knife tearing at the cloth, irritating his arm injury. He trembled in pain, and then he could feel the second knife thunking, this time against his leg, pinning it there.

"This is quite fun." Sandra commented. "Maybe I should do this with a couple more pieces of cattle."

"He's not cattle!" Rudy snarled at her.

Sandra shrugged. "He's just a retard. Zoners like him aren't worth the trouble." She narrowed her eyes in Rudy's direction. "Why do you want to save him so badly anyway? Didn't he give you a gigantic headache when he first came here?"

"Well...yeah..." Rudy admitted.

Doofus Rudy felt his heart sink at this. He recalled that day, when he and Doofus Penny had first been erased. He had only been doing what he was drawn to do. Yet, in his desire to fulfill his purpose, to help people, he ended up being overzealous about it, and was a total pest. He had been created in Rudy's likeness, and totally mocked it. He wondered if Rudy felt ashame of him on some level.

"But that doesn't mean I want to see him die. It's not his fault he was created like that." Rudy said. He squirmed on the ground a little. He managed to move himself forward a little. "He's really not that bad. He deserves a chance to live, just like everyone else."

Doofus Rudy widened his eyes at this. He hadn't expected Rudy to defend him that much. But then, if he hated him, why would he and the others try to save him? Doofus Rudy couldn't help but offer a tiny smile at that. It faded away when he heard Sandra's cold chuckle.

"Oh give me a break! You and I both know that zoners with a single purpose will always keep that purpose in tact. They won't change. Doofus Rudy here will always be stupid." Sandra pointed at Doofus Rudy, her head turned to face the real Rudy. "What kind of help do you think he can provide to ChalkZone?"

"And how are you helping ChalkZone by killing him?" Rudy snapped at her. "Do you think ChalkZone is really so heartbroken that he's around?"

"I've seen the way the other zoners look at him." Sandra hissed.

"That's not an excuse to hurt him." Rudy narrowed his eyes. "I highly doubt any one of the zoners really wants to hurt him. Sure, he might make them angry, but he means no harm. He only wants to help people. How can you condemn him for that?"

Sandra twitched her ears. She growled softly at Rudy for a few seconds. She soon turned her back to him. She looked at the ground, her red eyes darting around for a bit. Then she took in a deep breath and she leveled her gaze with Doofus Rudy. "Well, he will help people by satiating their hunger."

"No! Don't!" Rudy pleaded, but this time, he was ignored.

Doofus Rudy let out screams as Sandra tossed more knives at him. It seemed like as each few seconds passed, another knife was tossed at him. Even though Sandra didn't have a lot of knives, it still felt as though she had tossed over a hundred at him. Doofus Rudy kept his eyes shut and turned away, unable to stand the sight of the shiny metal blades coming at him. He could hear the humans scream for Sandra to stop. He could hear telling them to shut up. He felt the rush of wind as the blades hit against him, getting him more and more caught against the shelf's wall.

Then when it was all over, Doofus Rudy slowly opened up his eyes. Through his vision, blurred by his tears of fear, he turned his head from left and right, surveying what Sandra had managed to accomplish. He was horrified by what he had seen.

There were a total of five knives against him, each one in a different place. They cut through the cloth of his clothing. He was unable to move any of hs limbs, each one pinned affectively. He twisted and turned to no avail. It was a frightening realization for him to know that Sandra had the skill to hit such a small target; the sleeves of his shirt and pants were incredibly thin, almost nonexistent. He attempted to struggle again, yet it was no use. He was stuck.

"Do not be so sad." Sandra said.

Doofus Rudy looked up at the blue dragon. He hadn't realized that she had been walking towards him. He didn't hear her footsteps. This realization made his heart skip a beat.

"You will soon join your little friend. I know how much you miss her." Sandra's smile was almost friendly. She tilted her head slightly, barely, and she reached out to touch his cheek. "I'm sure you want to thank me for the reunion."

Doofus Rudy cringed at her touch. He felt her hand against his skin. It was warm, yet to him, it was bone chilling. There was no comfort in the gesture. He stared at her in fear, pushing himself back as far as he could go. But he was not going anywhere, and everyone knew it.

As Sandra broadened her smile, Doofus Rudy remained silent. He would have tried to beg for his life. He could feel the fear paralyzing him. But even if he could speak..it wasn't like it was going to make much of a difference. He knew that all too well. The truth was that, no matter what he said to her, she was not going to listen. His begs and pleads, they would just fall upon her as though she had deaf ears.

But perhaps..there was something that she would respond to. Something that, if he were to die now, he wanted to know, and carry with him to his grave.

"Wh-What...did..." He managed to choke out.

"Hmm?" Sandra paused, her expression softening up.

"What did...what did..." It was a struggle to speak, but Doofus Rudy still managed it. He gritted his teeth as he stared at Sandra in the eyes. He tried his best to look brave. "What did you...do to Doofus Penny...?"

Sandra snapped her head back, looking at the zoner in surprise. "Why do you ask?" She leaned forward. "Do you really want to know that?"

Doofus Rudy nodded his head once. "Yeah...I do."

Sandra stared at him for a few seconds, not saying a word. She looked honestly surprised that he would ask such a question. He wasn't sure why that was. Not that it mattered all that much to him. All he cared about right now was getting an answer out of the dragon.

He didn't care if Sandra was confused. He didn't care if the human children might also be confused by the question. He needed this. He needed closure. Before he died, he had to know what Doofus Penny went through. He had cared about her. He had loved her. He wouldn't forgive himself in his final moments if he didn't take the time to figure out what her ultimate fate had been.

"All right then." Sandra finally spoke after a long silence. "I'll tell you."

Doofus Rudy held still and quiet, listening intently to what the dragon zoner had to say.

sss

Sandra had to admit, Doofus Rudy had surprised her. She thought he was a bit too stupid to realize what was happening, yet he managed to figure her out earlier. Now he surprised her again with his question. In his time of nearing death, he still thought about Doofus Penny, and, despite knowing how much the truth would hurt him, he still wanted to find out.

She hated to admit it, but she kind of admired him for that. It took a lot of courage to ask a question like this. Knowing how someone died was not always an easy thing to do. There were some that she was certain would rather not know, as knowing would be too painful.

But not Doofus Rudy. He really wanted to know. She could tell that he was serious. The way he was looking at her, there was no doubt that he wasn't going to back down from this. He was sucking it up and willing to take the brutal emotional mauling he was about to recieve. A part of her almost considered letting him live because of that. Almost...

Her ears twitched a few times, and it took her a little while to realize that the human children had gone silent. She turned her head, looking around the room, staring at Rudy, Mint, and Penny. They were glaring softly at her. Yet they did not move. Did they want to hear the story, too?

Well regardless if they didn't, that wasn't their choice. They were going to hear the tale, whether they wanted to or not. She smiled at this, and she looked back over at Doofus Rudy.

Yeah, she would tell him what happened. Why not? The little guy deserved some closure. She had to admit, she was probably a bit out of line with her retard comments. This was a way that she could sort of make amends with him before she offed him. She couldn't stand the thought of any zoner being useless in ChalkZone, and thus, she knew she was granting him a favor by turning him into food. He would help zoners then.

She didn't hesitate anymore. She began her tale.

"I ran into her on my way through the city. We had bumped into each other, and I accidentally caused her to spill her things. I apologized and helped her up. She wanted to thank me by taking me to her...observatory, or whatever she called it. Anyway, we went there and we hung out for a bit and she showed me around."

"And let me guess. You got pissed off by some of her inventions and you decided to kill her off." Rudy interrupted her. "How could you?"

Sandra shot him a glare. Then she smiled. "Well..no. That's not exactly what happened."

"Why do I not believe you?" Rudy asked, his eyes still narrowed.

Sandra just shrugged her shoulders. It didn't matter if he believed her or not. That was not of her concern. She just gave him a quick chuckle before turning her attention back to Doofus Rudy. Right now, he was going to get all her attention, her focus. He wanted to know the story, so here it goes.

"What really happened was that, earlier, I had wanted to obtain more meat. You see, I need to keep up with my customers. I need to always make sure I have a supply ready to be used. I never know how many customers I'll get in a day, and lately, I've been getting a lot. So I wanted to make sure I had plenty of meat to use for a few days while I tried to think of what new, wonderful recipes I could make. And then I run into your little friend."

She pointed at Doofus Rudy, smiling at him. He frowned at her, gritting his teeth. She could leave out most of the details and just sum it up. But she felt that he deserved to know at least a little detail.

Besides, it would be a bit of a cop out if she summarized it too much. Oh yes, there were times when leaving out details was not a good idea. She would consider this one to be such a case. Doofus Rudy might be an idiot, but he was not dumb enough to be satiated by a sentence or two. And she would not be satisfied with that route.

"The real reason I went with her to her place was not because I wanted to be buddy-buddy with her. It was because I happened to notice her...generously sized skull. It was so large compared to the rest of her body. It was rather impressive...and it also meant more meat. But I wasn't going to kill her willy nilly and take the risk. I needed to know what she tasted like first. So during our...bonding as she would put it, I accidentally scratched her with my claws. I quickly apologized, which she had accepted. I turned away from her and, making sure she couldn't, see, I licked the blood off my claws."

Doofus Rudy glared at her. The three children snarled. She chuckled, ignoring this. She continued on with her story.

"I must say, the flavor was quite...unique. The blood is just a mere preview of the whole package, but from that alone, I knew that she was going to taste quite unique. I guess the combination of her sort of intelligence, what with all her inventions," Sandra raised her hand up in gesture. She recalled all the unique things she saw in that zoner's place. "And her relative stupidity.." She smiled at the glares she got. "..that combined did something to her blood I suppose, giving it a flavor I had never tasted before."

"You killed her just for her meat?!" Mint snapped in shock at this.

"Why yes I did, my dear creator." Sandra looked over in his direction. It was hard for her to believe that one of her two creators really was here. She wasn't sure why she didn't realize it was him before, but no matter. She grinned and said, "That is the primary reason I kill any zoner. For their meat. Normally I'd target the hospital and..relieve them of some of the patients. But I took a chance this time, and went after a zoner who could fight back..if she so chose."

She frowned softly at this. She had wanted a bit of a challenge with Doofus Penny. She wanted a bit of a struggle. She was disappointed when that didn't happen. True, easy prey was better so she didn't exert too much strength. Still, that didn't mean that she didn't want some kind of fight.

She looked ahead at Doofus Rudy. She guessed she wouldn't get much of out of him. Though that look in his eyes, and the fact that he did try to fight her, yes that was a bit impressive. Maybe she would get more out of him.

Sandra continued, "It was so easy killing her, too. You wouldn't believe how effortless it was. Like taking candy from a baby." Doofus Rudy widened his eyes at this. "I asked her to come over. I intrigued her...scientific mind...with my claws. They seemed to boggle her mind, and she had wanted to see them in action. So I got behind her on a couch and grabbed her shoulder. She was quite impressed and wented another demonstration. Something harder. So I went for her neck."

Doofus Rudy shook his head. "No.."

"Oh yes. Around her neck, my claws went effortlessly. It was so easy. She didn't even struggle. I took this chance. I began to apply pressure. She still didn't move, although she did complain that I was pressing a little too hard. She didn't even try to struggle until it was too late. My claws were in her throat. You should have seen the look in her eyes, Doofus Rudy. How wide in terror they were, how afraid she was when she realized she was utterly screwed."

"No.." Doofus Rudy whimpered, shaking his head in denial. "N-No..."

"She called out for you. She screamed your name. She was begging you to save her." Sandra said, her eyes narrowed. "Of course, you didn't come. Because you weren't there. I cut her off mid sentence, and her pleas were replaced by wet screams as blood choked her. My claws made quick of her, and she collapsed seconds later." Sandra smiled lightly, looking into Doofus Rudy's eyes. "The rest..you already know... Well, except for one thing."

The crying Doofus Rudy paused. He looked at her in confusion, tilting his head. She smirked at this. There was on detail that he probably never realized. After all, he didn't always know what she had been involved with. This next part, it was going to be the real kicker.

"I must know...did you enjoy your meal when you came by my place?" Sandra asked. Upon seeing Doofus Rudy's expression, she smirked. "Oh I'm sure you must remember. You came over a while ago, before you...stumbled upon my secret." She gripped his chin, forcing him to look at her. "I recall you said that the food tasted wonderful. I'm surprised you don't remember."

Doofus Rudy took in a few quick breaths. It seemed to settle with him exactly what she was talking about. He shook his head in denial, clearly not wanting to believe it. This made her smile broaden. "N-No...I-I didn't...no..."

"How did she taste?" Sandra leaned her head closer. She put her mouth next to his ear. She whispered, "She tasted delicious, didn't she? The mark of friendship...giving one's meat up for their friend, wouldn't you agree...?"

Doofus Rudy's face quickly became stained with tears. "No...you're lying...no..." He lowered his head, gritting his teeth. Then he pulled it back and let out a mournful howl. "No!"

sss

Penny had a hard time controlling her anger. She seethed through her teeth, feeling her blood boiling. She wasn't the only one who had trouble controlling her anger. Both Rudy and Mint also seemed to have trouble keeping back their emotions. They glared out to where Sandra stood. She could feel her body shaking with torrents of emotion as she glared hatefully at the vile blue dragon.

Sandra had already proven herself to be disgusting. She had fooled them all for the past several weeks. She had toyed with them, their minds. She had messed with Snap and made him think that he was responsible for the deaths of all those zoners, or at least tried to, and succeeded with fooling much of ChalkZone. She had tried to hide behind this by saying it was for his own good. She admitted to having an obsession with promises, and how they should never be broken. And she used that as an excuse to hurt their friend.

This alone made her an evil person. This was enough to warrant their hatred towards her, and get her arrested. But no, she didn't have enough, did she? She couldn't let it go. She couldn't keep it at that. She had to add something else to it, too, didn't she?

Although she wasn't surprised, Penny didn't think it would be something like this...

She and her friends were already aware that Doofus Penny had been killed. They'd seen the footage. There wasn't much on there. They did see the blood splatter and the violence, but Sandra was conveniently out of the camera. Maybe it was due to the angle of the camera, who knows? But the nature at how she died, how...casual...it had been..it was just awful.

But that wasn't what burned her blood. That's not what was working up her and her friends. It was what Sandra told them after that. It was one of the most vile acts she had ever heard anyone commit. Even Skrawl would never stoop to this level, regardless of how evil he was.

She had fed Doofus Penny to Doofus Rudy. At least a piece of her. Doofus Rudy must have been at her restaurant. If he forgot, she wouldn't blame him. He didn't always retain memories well. But this...he'd never forget this. The meat he had consumed that day..had been from his best friend.

She felt her stomach twist in anger. She struggled against her binds, feeling her eyes blaze. Of all the cruel things Sandra could have done... She couldn't blame Doofus Rudy for breaking down like he was. He was retching as if trying to throw up. Sobs escaped his throat. He had a look of absolute terrified disbelief in his eyes. He looked as if he was going to pass out at any time.

And Sandra...she just stood there. She had given him some space. She had her arms folded and she was smirking at him as he cried. She didn't look remorseful for her actions at all. If anything, she seemed...proud. Penny recalled with disgust that Sandra felt that eating the flesh of a friend was an honor. She probably thought she was doing Doofus Rudy a favor. How revolting...

"You...how could you...?!" Penny found herself shouting. This was enough to get Sandra's attention. The dragon zoner looked over at her. The smile faded, replaced with a more quizzical look. This made Penny angrier. Of course Sandra wouldn't understand the weight of her actions, how disgusting they were. "What kind of twisted person would feed someone their best friend?!"

Sandra blinked her eyes a few times. She turned around, leaving Doofus Rudy be. She walked over to her and Rudy. She ignored the shouts and challenges from Mint. She ignored the nasty glares Rudy was giving her. She had her eyes sit only for her.

When Sandra reached her, she knelt down on one knee. She reached forward and grabbed Penny by her chin. Getting touched by this vile person was enough to make Penny jerk her head away, freeing her head. Sandra pulled her hand away, her muzzle ticking in a sort of half smile. She took a moment to look over her shoulder at where Doofus Rudy was crying, still pinned by the knives. Then she looked back at Penny.

"I do not understand why you are so upset. Isn't the ultimate level of friendship sharing your flesh with another?" She held up her hand, making gestures as she spoke. "I know, it might seem strange. But think about it. True friends share everything together. Just how much devotion do you think it takes to consume the flesh of a friend? For a friend to allow that to happen?"

"Doofus Penny didn't allow it! You murdered her!" Rudy shouted at her, enraged. Sandra gave him a sideways glance. "Do you really think that Doofus Penny wanted to get eaten?! You sick, vile fiend! I am going to make you pay for what you've done!"

"Oh really now?" Sandra sneered at him. "And how do you think you will pull that off, Rudy?" She looked at him up and down, studying him. She raised her lip up, as if disappointed. "You aren't much of a challenge where you are. I suppose you are going to try to escape?"

"You can count on it!" Rudy declared.

Sandra chortled at this, placing a folded hand in front of her mouth. "I needed a good laugh. Thank you." Rudy growled at this, but Sandra ignored it. She turned her attention to Penny. "Perhaps you would like me to give you a demonstration? I can show you how pleasant it is to eat from someone you care about."

Penny felt the color drain from her face. She knew exactly what Sandra was implying. She shook her head, pure terror flashing in her eyes. "No...you can't...!"

Mint and Rudy both appeared to understand what Sandra was implying as well. She could hear them shouting her, trying to get her to back off. Sandra just smirked at this, the evil smile never leaving her face. She looked into Penny's eyes. Penny couldn't look away. It was as though all she could see was red, and the blackness of her pupils. She could barely register what her friends were saying, nor did she notice if Doofus Rudy had escaped, as her eyes remained locked in place.

Sandra just smiled at her. Although she did not say it, Penny didn't need words to tell her anything. Sandra's eyes and expression were enough to reveal the sinister motive in that evil dragon's mind. Penny felt her mind go numb, paralyzed in emotion, as Sandra turned her attention to Rudy.

"No..don't!" Penny tried to say. No more words would come out. Emotion choked her voice, silencing her. Terror kept her frozen where she was.

Sandra smirked down at Rudy. The boy glared hatefully at her. But Penny could see the fear in his eyes as well. He knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do to defend himself. Sandra reached out towards him, grabbing him by his arm and shoulder, flipping him onto his side. She moved her muzzle along him, surveying his arm.

Soon she looked onto a certain spot. His upper arm, not far above the elbow. "Ah, this will do nicely." She positioned herself so that she could bring her spiked tail forward. Penny cried out for her to stop, but Sandra simply replied with, "Hold your horses, girl. I will get you some food."

Penny nearly lost her lunch at this. She struggled, wriggling and thrashing on the ground. Rudy tried to escape, but Sandra's grip kept him still. Penny looked on in horror. The spikes were about to cut his flesh. She turned her head quickly to see Mint. The terrified teenager was trying to do something to help, calling out in desperation. He was crawling towards them, but there was no way he'd make it over in time.

Penny looked back as she heard a scream. Sandra's spikes had started to penetrate his arm. Penny looked around, trying to figure out something she could do. Then she got an idea. She didn't know if it would work, but she had to try.

She thrashed on the ground some more. She pushed herself to one side. Each time, she used more and more force. Eventually, she managed to get herself in the position she needed to be in. She didn't hesitate, taking the one chance she might have. She pulled her legs back and, using as much force as possible, kicked forward.

Her feet hit their mark.

Wide-eyed and letting out a surprised cry, Sandra tumbled forward. She lost her footing as she fell across Rudy. She let out a groan and tried to get up. Rudy took this chance. He flipped himself onto his back, Sandra still on her. He then used his feet then, using strength even he must not have realized he had, flipped her up, using enough force to send her over his head and crashing into the ground a few feet in front of him.

There was a stunned silence. Even Doofus Rudy, who was still crying, looked on in shock at what happened. Sandra was on her back not far away from Rudy. She was staring at Rudy, stunned by this turn of events, her eyes still wide. She remained there for several seconds before she finally got up.

Rudy and Penny, despite their fears, glared at her. They knew what kind of position they were in. They knew that Sandra had the upperhand here. But that the moment, they didn't care. Disgusted and horrified by what Sandra was about to do, they had to show her that she was going to have to try a lot harder than that to pull it off. They wouldn't let her get them like that. Not without a fight.

Sandra narrowed her eyes slowly. "How rude. I don't know why you had to do that." She rubbed her shoulder, wincing a little in pain. "It wasn't like I was going to kill you or anything."

"We would rather die than let you feed us to each other." Rudy boldly declared.

Sandra seemed shocked at this comment. She moved back, twisting her body slightly to the side. "That's insane!"

"Insane?" Mint called out from his spot, causing Sandra to look over her shoulder at him. "How is it insane? Do you honestly think that it's normal to want to eat friends?"

Sandra shrugged. "It's preferable to death."

"And what about Doofus Penny?!" Rudy snapped. "What about her? She didn't deserve to die! But you still fed her to Doofus Rudy! What was so different about her?!"

"That is quite easy." Sandra said. "I needed meat, and she had it to offer. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to do much for ChalkZone anyway." She waved her hand dismissively. "Unlike Doofus Rudy over there, Doofus Penny wasn't created with the need to help others, am I right? With the exception of Doofus Rudy, and maybe you guys, she didn't really care about other zoners. All she cared about were her experiments."

"That's not true!" Penny shouted. She couldn't believe the words coming out of the dragon's mouth. How dare she say such things...

"Oh really now? I beg to differ." Sandra replied, putting her hands on her hips, her tail swishing around slowly. "She hardly left her home, am I right? Maybe to get food and supplies, but that's about it. I've seen the things she created. I know some of them are dangerous, yet I don't think I saw any warning signs. Even disregarding that, have you ever seen her get buddy-buddy with anyone else? I would think not. Face it, she was just a selfish brat who would leave many to die if she had a..."

Suddenly the dragon zoner stiffened up, her eyes widening as she let out a quick screech. Something grey and shiny zipped past her, nothing but a blur. There was a thunk sound, and she clutched her arm. It took Penny moments to realize that there was blood moving down her arm, staining her. She hissed in pain, clenching her teeth.

Penny was stunned. Just what had happened? She knew it couldn't have been her or Rudy. Their arms were still tied behind their backs. She looked over to Mint. Maybe he had done something? His arms were still free. But upon seeing his expression, she knew this wasn't the case. But if it wasn't him or them, then who could it have been?

Sandra looked behind her. They widened, then narrowed in anger. "You..."

Penny and the others looked over to see what Sandra was looking at. Gasps of horror and shock left their mouths when they realized who it was that had attacked Sandra.

It was Doofus Rudy.

The zoner had managed to free himself, somehow. His clothes were torn where the knives had been, and now the deadly instruments laid strewn on the ground. Well most of them. The zoner was in a posture that was enough to tell everyone what he had done.

The emotion that had surged through his body must have been too much. He looked so filled with rage and disgust, and that alone must have given him the strength to get free. After he had freed himself, he had take one of the knives and tossed it at Sandra. The sharp blade sliced in her arm, deep enough to cause rapid bleeding.

Sandra glared at the zoner, baring her teeth. "How dare you..."

"Doofus Penny was not selfish! You're wrong about her! She would never abandon anyone who was in need! She wasn't a bad guy like you!" Doofus Rudy pointed at the dragon zoner. "She was many times better than you are! You're mean! You hurt people! Doofus Penny might have accidentally hurt someone, but it wasn't on purpose! Don't you dare talk about her like that!"

Sandra twitched her ears, curling her lip up into a snarl. She took a few steps forward. She seemed to apply extra force when she stomped on the ground, as if she were trying to intimidate Doofus Rudy. Though it seemed to be working somewhat, the small zoner refused to run away.

"And now you hurt my friends! You say they are being unreasonable, but look at you!" Doofus Rudy's voice seemed to raise in volume when he gained more courage to talk back to the dragon. "How can you justify your actions when you..."

Doofus Rudy didn't have time to finish. Sandra, obviously fed up with him, seized him by the throat and raised him up into the air. The zoner gagged and struggled to get himself free. The bravery that had shined in his eyes vanished, replaced with fear. Sandra ignored his pleas as her crimson eyes bored through his green ones.

"I think you should stop talking. This isn't your business. I will deal with you later." Sandra pulled him close. "Unless you want me to deal with you right now..."

Doofus Rudy pushed against her hand gripping him. "No..please...!"

Sandra simply narrowed her eyes. With a snarl, she pulled her arm back and threw him to the side. He crashed into the ground, and began to struggle up to his feet. Sandra watched him, listening to his whimpers, her face contorted in disgust. She then turned her attention to Rudy and Penny.

"I do apologize for that...ugly display..." Sandra said. She tapped her feather fingers together. "Shall we continue on?" She motioned towards them. "I'm sure you want to finish our conversation."

Penny glared at the dragon zoner, as did Mint and Rudy. For a while, none of them spoke. They were too angry to talk. The way Sandra was acting was getting worse by the second. Not only did she just assault Doofus Rudy for trying to defend Doofus Penny, not only did she try to cut off a piece of meat from Rudy and force Penny to eat it, but now she had gone back into a friendly mode and was acting as if nothing had happened. It was like she didn't have grasp on common sense and seemed to genuinely think she was acting in an acceptable manner.

It was so easy for Penny lose it and snap at the zoner. There were a few things she would have wanted to say to her. But she held back. What good was it going to do her? None. Getting Sandra angry would get them nowhere, and would run the risk of making the zoner dangerously unpredictable. So far, the dragon zoner seemed to keep her anger mostly in check. But what would happen if she were to lose it? Penny would rather not find out.

"No talking? You don't have to give me the cold shoulder, you know." Sandra said, furrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. "You are really acting immature."

"Look who's talking!" Mint cried from his position. He had managed to crawl closer, though still was a ways away. He grinned mischeviously at Sandra. "Says the dragon who nearly blew up in our face all because we didn't cherish promises on the same level as you!"

"How dare you..." Sandra turned her attention to Mint. She formed trembling fists as she approached him slowly, her tail moving from side to side. "You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh really?" Mint taunted.

"Yeah!" Sandra pointed a finger at him. "Promises are different! They are special! I wasn't overreacting when I called you all out on your heresay!"

Mint chuckled at this. "Oh is that what you call it?!"

Penny watched in silence as Mint had a colorful discussion with his creation. She couldn't help but admire his bravery. He was in an even worse position at this very moment. Yeah he still had his arms. But he was still disarmed, and he was missing part of his left leg. His crutches were nowhere near him now. Unless he got a piece of chalk soon, there was no way he was going to be able to get up to his feet. He was trapped.

She looked over at Rudy. He had been trying to struggle, grunting, squirming. To her disappointment, he hadn't been able to free his arms. The ropes were as still as tight as ever. Sandra had been quite good at securing them. She wondered briefly if she had picked up this skill from all the zoners she had captured from the hospital and murdered in cold blood.

Penny tried to struggle herself. She knew that she couldn't give up. They had to get free and stop Sandra. They had no idea what she was going to do to Mint, and she was going to hurt Doofus Rudy. But the more she struggled, the tighter the ropes seemed to get. If only there were a way to get these ropes off...

That's when she felt it. In her squirming and thrashing on the ground, she could feel something hard and cold. She lifted up her head, feeling her neck ache as she struggled to see it.

It was the knife that Doofus Rudy had tossed before.

Eyes widening in realization, her mind filling with determination, Penny squirmed herself over. If she could just get the knife to slice at least part of the rope, maybe she could get herself free. Soon, Penny could feel the knife's handle, and she grabbed it with two fingers. She immediately went to work.

sss

"Why you little...!"

Rudy watched in horror as Sandra backhanded Mint, making him roll across the ground. She pinned him down with her foot, glaring daggers at him. Rudy wasn't sure how much further she would take it. It seemed like she was done with the physical attacks. But he didn't want to take that chance.

Come on...these ropes had to get loose at some point. He wriggled from side to side. He pulled on his arms as hard as he could. He could feel them ache at their joints as he applied more and more pressure. The ropes cut into his skin, and as he jerked to one side, he had to stop. His eyes bulged as he felt the rope scrape hard. He was honestly shocked that he didn't draw blood from that.

He looked out ahead towards where Mint was, biting his lip. Sandra was chewing him out. He didn't pay attention to the words she said, though. His attention was on Mint. He didn't deserve this. He had to help him get out of there...somehow.

If only these ropes would just come undone...

Suddenly, he heard a snap behind him. He turned his head to where Penny was. He couldn't stifle the gasp of shock when he saw that she had managed to free herself. The ropes that had held her arms were on the ground, loose and free. He stared at her, open mouthed.

"Penny...how did you..?" Rudy couldn't say any more. He was too stunned to speak.

Penny looked at him, giving him an understanding look. "I know...I will explain later." She went over to his side. "Hold still...I'll get you free."

Penny knelt beside her friend. Rudy felt her push him onto his stomach. She gripped his arm for support. Then she brought the knife down. Rudy winced as the knife's dull side pressed against him. But he remained still and allowed Penny to get on with her work.

"Hey!"

The two kids froze at that exclaimation. They moved their eyes up, their heads frozen in place. Sandra had taken notice of them. She had tossed Mint to the side and was starting to advance on them.

"Stay right where you are..." Sandra raised her hand up, threatening to use her powers. "You will regret it if you..."

Without warning, she fell forward, hitting her muzzle against the ground ground. Rudy and Penny stared at this in shock. They then looked over and they could see that Mint had stopped her. The boy grabbed onto her ankles and pulled on them, making her lose her footing. The dragon zoner coughed a few times, her eyes shining in surprise. It didn't take her long to realize what happened, and she glared over at Mint.

"You..." Sandra started to say.

"Leave him alone!" Out of nowhere, Doofus Rudy, who appeared to be in pain as he ran, rushed towards the dragon zoner. Sandra looked at him in shock as he came over and grabbed onto her arm. He held on tightly. "Please! Just let them go!"

Sandra stared at him with wide eyes. She soon snarled at him, her ears flattening. "Let go of me!"

"Only if you promise to leave my friends be!" Doofus Rudy demanded. Tears of anger strolled down his cheek. "You hurt Doofus Penny, and I couldn't stop you. But I can stop you from hurting my friends!"

Rudy admired the zoner's bravery. He was amazed that, even in pain and agony, the zoner still had the courage to speak out against Sandra like this. That must have taken whatever courage he had left in his body.

Sandra, however, wasn't as impressed. She growled at the zoner. She looked from her arm, which she had healed up a short time ago, and then back at Doofus Rudy. Anger etched all over her face, filling her pores. Rudy knew this was not going to end well.

"Doofus Rudy!" Rudy cried, trying to warn him. "Let her go! Get away from her!"

But it was too late.

"I'm getting sick of you." Sandra growled as she yanked herself away, getting free of his grasp. She then grabbed his arm with one hand, her other gripping his shoulder on the other side. "I'm going to make sure you stop being a problem."

"N-No...please..." Doofus Rudy pleaded with her. But they fell on deaf ears.

With a swift yank and a sickening sound, Sandra ripped his arm off clean out of its socket. A torrent of blood flow poured out of the wound. Doofus Rudy let out a scream and quickly became pale, and he had a tired look on his face. Sandra let him go, allowing him to drop to the ground. She smirked at his severed arm before dropping it in front of her as if it were not big deal.

Rudy, Penny, and Mint looked at the scene, their eyes wide in terror. They couldn't believe what Sandra just did. How could she do such a thing? Doofus Rudy hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't even tried to hurt her. He just wanted her to stop. And for her to...

Rudy felt his blood boil. This monster... She always found new ways of becoming more disgusting, didn't she? Rudy casted a sympathetic glance at Doofus Rudy. He was quivering on the ground, a pool of blood forming around him. He could see his severed limb on the ground, the bone and muscle and tendons sticking out. He then glared back at Sandra. Oh how she was going to pay...

Sandra smiled and said, "Well that takes care of..."

"You bitch!" Rudy shouted. Sandra looked at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. He hardly paid attention to that. His mind was raging in anger, clouds of intense emotion swirling around it. "Why the fuck did you have to go and do that for?!"

Sandra stiffened up, looking at Rudy as though he had just committed some great offense. Through clenched teeth, she said, "Don't you dare try to blame me for that! He was asking for it!"

"He wasn't going to hurt you! You had no reason to rip off his arm like that!" Penny cried, her body shaking in rage. She continued cutting the ropes despite the fact that Sandra was looking at them. "How could you be so cruel?!"

Sandra moved her head back, her ears lowering. She snarled, her sharp teeth baring. "You two need to..."

Suddenly she froze, her ears twitching a little. She seemed to sense something was up. Rudy looked over at Penny. He was confused when he saw her expression. She was looking over somewhere, her eyes stating something was there. It seemed Sandra caught note of that, and perhaps something that he could hear. He found himself following Penny's gaze, and he and Sandra both seemed to notice at the same time.

Mint was back on his feet. A chalk prosthetic leg had been drawn, allowing him to stand up. Rudy and Penny couldn't believe it. How had he managed to do that? That was when they saw the magic chalk clutched in his hand. He must have grabbed it after Sandra left him. She must have kicked it towards him by mistake in the commotion.

Sandra's eyes went wide, her mouth dropping open. She then growled and she turned her back to them while she faced Mint. "Oh no you don't..."

Mint let out a scream as he nearly collapsed onto the ground. He held onto his stomach, the clear target of Sandra's powers. Rudy widened in his eyes in horror and he could feel Penny increase her movements. But he knew, from the look of things, they weren't going to get there in time. And judging from Sandra's eyes, it was clear she was not going to stop this time.

Mint looked up at Sandra pleadingly. He still held the magic chalk in his hand. He was pulling his arm back as if to throw it. Sandra twisted her hand to one side, and Mint let out another cry. He finally collapsed onto the ground, curving his body inward into a fetal position. Sandra smiled at this, but she did not relent. Her head symbol continued to glow as she tortured Mint from the inside out.

Rudy looked on in horror. Penny was getting close to releasing him, but even if she cut him loose now, even if she left him and bolted towards Mint, she would not make it in time. Rudy shook his head in denial, tears streaming down his face. This...this couldn't end this way. There had to be something they...

Something long, thin, yet kind of heavy sailed through the air. It twisted around almost like it was a boomerang. It hit against Sandra in a thud, landing on the ground. It didn't appear to hurt the dragon that much, but it was enough to make her let go of Mint. As the boy let out a pained sigh of relief, she turned her head, pricking her ears up.

Everyone was shocked to see Doofus Rudy standing there. He was paler than before, and it was a miracle he could even still stand. Blood still flowed from his empty socket where his arm used to be. He was crying softly, the tears glinting on his cheeks. And the object he had thrown...it had been his own arm. The pieces of what happened fell together very quickly, which added more to the shock that everyone was feeling.

"L-Leave them be..." Doofus Rudy stumbled forward. Blood loss was taking its toll. "S-Stop..."

Rudy couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Doofus Rudy..no..."

"Stay back!" Mint shouted, his voice tinged in pain and horror.

Penny stared at him wide eyed. "Get back!"

Doofus Rudy gave them a smile. "I was..drawn to have a..need to help.. I help. I will help save you.." He turned his attention to Sandra. "Th-This is what Doofus Penny w-would want me to do..." He took a step forward. "I will not back down."

Rudy and his friends watched in horror as Sandra turned her attention to Doofus Rudy. She kicked his severed limb to the side and walked towards him. "My my...how brave of you." She tilted her head to one side. "Perhaps I should...reward you!"

Faster than any of them could have predicted, Sandra rushed towards Doofus Rudy. She grabbed him by his remaining arm, hoisting him up into the air. She then made a beeline for the machine. Rudy, Penny, and Mint realized what she was about to do and they called out for her to stop. She ignored them completely as she raised Doofus Rudy above the opening of the machine, grinning insanely.

"How nice of you to drop by!" With that, Sandra released her grip. Doofus Rudy let out a scream as he hit against the immobile sharp blades at the bottom. Everyone's stomachs twisted as they realized this wasn't going to last forever. "Don't forget to say hello to Doofus Penny when you arrive!"

"No!" The trio cried in unison, but it was too late.

Sandra pushed the button.

The machine roared to life. It wobbled slightly and the whirring sound of blades filled the air, as did the loud screams from Doofus Rudy. The scene was absolutely horrific to look at, yet the trio couldn't get themselves to turn away. The scene before them would remain forever etched into their heads.

The cylinder quickly filled with blood. Flesh and guts splattered all over. Doofus Rudy's screams quickly became wet and gurgly, before they vanished altogether. Replacing it was the crunching, twisting, and clanging of the machine as it rapidly made work of him. The heavy stench of death and blood filled the air. It was enough to make the trio nauseas.

What happened next nearly made them all lose their lunch.

With a wet, slick sound, the machine began to pump out something. It appeared pink in color. It slid out, like some kind of disgusting slime. It slipped out in one big mass, hitting into the grey tray with a sickening splotch. It took them only seconds to realize what it was.

Doofus Rudy's meat...


	32. The Time To Fight Back

I've had it up to here! You know your end is near!

-Had Enough, Breaking Benjamin

sss

Rudy stared at the scene, unable to tear away. He could feel a torrent of anger rush through him, along with disgust and horror. It made him feel sick. It made him want to turn away. But he dare not to. He couldn't. The scene before him was just too horrific, his eyes glued to it. It was one of..no..it was the most terrible thing he had ever had to witness.

Sandra stood there next to the machine. She was smirking at the silver tray where Doofus Rudy's freshly ground meat lay. Rudy's wide eyes stared at this. For several moments, all he could see, the only thing reflecting in his eyes, was the fresh raw meat that Doofus Rudy had been shredded into. Though he could see Sandra licking her lips as if she wanted to eat some now, he did not focus on her. He just stared at what once was Doofus Rudy.

He couldn't help but feel guilty. He wished he had done something. He wished he could have freed himself and save Doofus Rudy from this horrilbe fate. He didn't deserve to go out like this. He didn't deserve to die... Yet Sandra still took his life away from him. And not in the most merciful manner either.

What caused his blood to boil so much was not only because she killed an innocent, but how she did. He would have thought she'd have the decency of giving him a quick death before grinding him up like that. Instead, she had ripped off his arm and left him to suffer for a while, and then she threw him into the machine while he was still alive, while he was still awake, and let him be ground up that way.

The screams...the howls of agony...the visions of blood splattering, the flesh being rended by the sharp blades.. They would never leave his head. Forever they would be plastered into his mind, haunting him, taunting him, reminding him of how much he had failed at saving him...

But he knew he shouldn't feel too bad about himself. He knew he was not the one to blame here. It was Sandra. She is the one who caused all of this. She is the one who started the whole mess. She is the one who had been torturing Snap, killing innocents, making unsuspecting zoners eat their meat... All that combined made her a heinous villain, far worse than any he's had to face before. Even just looking at her brought about feelings of anger and hate, and he found himself grinding his teeth.

How long had this been doing on? How many innocents perished because of her? How many have had to suffer because of her horrendeous deeds?

Well no more. That was going to come to an end. No more shall she terrorize ChalkZone City, or any other place for that matter. No more will she be able to kill zoners and eat them, or use their meat in her sick, disgusting recipes. That was over.

Rudy exchanged looks of determination with his friends. Penny stood next to him, having cut the rope and freed him. Mint, with his new, temporary prosthetic leg, nodded in silent agreement. In his hand, he held a piece of magic chalk. They now had a weapon to fight back against Sandra. They could subdue her. They could render her unable to fight back.

Seeing that Sandra was preoccupied with Doofus Rudy's meat, a fact that disgusted him, Rudy made a few quick gestures to Mint. He silently urged him to come over. He dare not speak, worried that it would draw Sandra's attention.

Mint got the hint and came over to him as fast as he could. His feet lightly hit the ground with each foot step, and though Sandra's ears twitched, she did not look over at them or give any indication she knew what was going on. Rudy wasn't sure how long this would last. But as long as she was preoccupied for a little while longer, he'd be able to draw up some kind of defense.

As Mint came closer, Rudy's mind raced. He wondered what was going to happen to ChalkZone City if he and his friends failed. Would Sandra keep up her sick deeds? Of course she would... She clearly has no intention on stopping. More and more zoners would fall under her claws, and with that awful machine of hers, no one was going to get suspicious of missing zoners. And with zoners being drawn every day, born practically every minute, the city was never going to get empty. All those zoners would mean more meat opportunities for Sandra, and she'd keep up her work.

That was why they could not fail. They couldn't afford to. So many zoners relied on their help. If they failed at this... It would mean doom for ChalkZone City, and perhaps the rest of the chalk world as well.

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He knew now that victory must be assured. There would be no second chances. Either they stop Sandra now or there would be a lot more victims in the future.

There was only one option left.

Fight...and win.

sss

Sandra stared at the pink slime-like substance before her. She couldn't help but smile, her mouth starting to drool in anticipation. She could smell the delicious aroma, invading her nostrils, activating signals in her brain. Her salivation started to drip onto the ground, and she was forced to swallow. That did little to deter her from staring at the meat.

It looked very much like meat that one would find in a grocery store. But she knew better than that. She had seen it being created herself. Only someone like her could tell that this meat wasn't from the store. None of her customers ever realized it came from another zoner, something she was quite proud of. She didn't want anyone copying her idea. She didn't care what Rudy and his friends thought; there would be a lot of zoners who would jump at the chance to try something like this. It was an easy, efficient way to obtain flesh, and no grazing fields required either.

A part of her was kind of disappointed. She hadn't expected company while she ground someone up to obtain meat. And she realized too late that they weren't going to give her time to store the meat. So some of the wonderful fear taste was going to be gone, if not all of it.

But there would still be some good flavor to it. Doofus Penny had tasted quite good, and she was certain that Doofus Rudy would have a similiar flavor. Perhaps she should try a piece now, while she still had the chance. She raised her ears up. She could not hear the children making a move, but that did not mean they wouldn't try. She would have to deal with them sooner or later. She knew exactly how she was going to do that. But first...the meat...

Sandra held the tray close to herself. It hit against her chest armor. She could see the blood still dripping off, some of it getting on her, some dripping onto the ground. She put her head close and took in a bit whiff. The stench of blood and flesh swirled around her, exciting her. Unable to wait any longer, she reached down with a finger and dipped it into the flesh, feeling its squishiness. She swirled it around, gathering some blood and some meat onto her finger.

She pulled it back and sniffed it again. She then slowly opened up her jaws, her tongue flexing in excitement. She put the finger into her mouth, and her tongue was immediately assaulted by the wonderful taste the flesh had to offer. She pulled her finger back from her mouth and started to chew on the meat.

Nice, quite nice... Not as good as Doofus Penny's, but still a very close second. It was succulent, just as she hoped it would be. Such flavor exploding off at every corner... Her customers would enjoy this meat, even if it does lose some of its potency.

She smacked her lips a few times. She then set the tray down. She smirked at it, thinking back to when this meat used to have legs, arms, and a head, running around, screaming at her, all that nonsense. Now he was nothing more than an inanimate pile of meat, no more useful than ground beef or ground turkey.

Sandra chuckled lightly. "I told you I was going to grant you a real purpose in ChalkZone, Doofus Rudy. I hope you enjoy your new life as a hamburger."

She froze when she heard one of the children calling out to her.

"Sandra!"

The dragon didn't move. There was a momentary flash of fear. She thought, for a second, that she was going to be attacked from behind. When she realized this was not the case, she relaxed, and narrowed her eyes. Not bothering to look back, she gave her reply.

"Look, this is starting to get a little old..." Sandra muttered. "I don't know why you can be so accepting of most zoners, yet when I come around and try to fulfill my dreams, you tear me apart."

She could hear Rudy snarl at this. "That's because most zoners don't get kicks off of killing other zoners!"

"Yeah!" This time, it was Penny. "Just because ChalkZone is a lot more varied than the Real World doesn't mean that you can do just whatever you want to here! Sooner or later, someone will discover your activities, and they will not only hate you for it, but they will come after you!"

Sandra couldn't help but smile at this. Ah, these children were as naive as ever. Did they really think the zoners would get that upset with her with the meat thing? She didn't see how. They were all meat inside anyway, and the greatest, most honorable sacrifice one could make is giving their flesh to another. All she was doing was providing a way for this to be possible.

But then, these are just kids. Ones from the Real World at that. They didn't understand fully how ChalkZone worked. They were simply foolish, and had no idea what they were talking about. There was little need for her to get upset with them. They would eventually learn..in due time...

"You guys are so funny, you know that?" Sandra said. She tilted her head back, her snout pointed in the air. Her ears flopped downward, swaying slightly from the action. "You are barely over a decade old and yet you act like you know the ways of the world."

This clearly pissed the children off. She could hear their growling and seething. But she did nothing to apologize. Why should she? She was doing nothing wrong.

"And you were only around for about two months now! How are you suddenly an expert?" Mint asked.

Sandra chuckled. Even her creator was as naive and stupid as the rest of them. Oh well, she was glad she was born with a more intelligent, mature mind. She was not hindered by delusions like these children were. A part of her actually felt sorry for them.

But there was nothing she could do for them. She could help them understand, but it was up to them to get the message. She could lead them to the water, but it was up to them to drink it. If they refused to listen, well...that would be their fault, not hers.

"We zoners are not like you humans, as you already know. When we are born, we come with the minds the creators intended for us to have. We can be born childish, or we can be born with more adult minds. So in other words..." Sandra pressed a hand against her upper chest, feeling the cool metal of her armor. "I might be chronologically younger, but my brain is more seasoned than yours. I know more about how the world works than you do."

"That doesn't mean that..." Mint started to say.

"Oh don't try to argue with me. No need to be jealous." Sandra replied.

"Jealous?! Why the fuck would I be jealous of you?!" Mint snapped.

Sandra growled at this, but she kept her cool. She reminded herself that Mint and the others were simply confused. She wouldn't convince them of anything if she used too much force and anger. If she remained persistant, however, she would eventually make them see things her way. She just had to be patient and calm.

Sandra began to turn around. "Well you see, Mint, I..."

She froze. She suddenly realized something. Mint's voice...it wasn't coming from the spot as it was before. It was in a new location now. The only way that could be possible was if he had moved. And judging from how much the audio changed, he had moved a lot. Had he..?

Sandra finished turning herself around, her eyes wide. She noticed that Mint, while she had been distracted, went over towards Rudy and Penny, who had freed themselves and were now back on their feet. To her shock and horror, Rudy now wielded a piece of magic chalk in his hand. He was staring right at her, his eyes boring through hers.

Sandra gulped and took a step back. "Rudy, I.."

"I'm sick of you trying to justify your disgusting actions, Sandra!" Rudy shouted as he raised up his piece of magic chalk. "It's time to end it!"

Sandra winced at this, and took a step back. For a moment, she had forgotten about her healing powers. Despite her front before, despite the way she acted for a while, she was actually pretty afraid of what the creators were capable of. She was aware of their abilities, and she knew Rudy had went up against many an enemy before. He'd always emerge victorious. And to have him turn the magic chalk against her...

It was quite a terrifying sight indeed.

"N-Now...let's be reasonable..." Sandra held up her hands, gritting her teeth. "Let's not do anything we might regret..."

Mint and Penny simply glared hatefully at her while Rudy took a few steps towards her. She could feel her heart beginning to pound her chest as the boy drew closer to her. She shifted her eyes nervously from the chalk and to Rudy's face. She could see just how determined and serious he was with wanting to do this. She had a feeling that nothing would persuade him to stop.

"How dare you try to negotiate with me.. after all you have done.. How dare you try to worm your way out of this.. You..are one of the most disgusting zoners I've ever met. I never thought I'd meet someone like you..." Rudy closed his eyes, his body shaking in anger. "We thought we could trust you...but you were just a big liar! You lied about everything!" He shot her a glare. "You don't care about Snap! You don't care about anyone but yourself and your stupid restaurant!"

Sandra's eyes widened at this. She took another step back. She couldn't believe Rudy had actually said that. And he wasn't even finished yet.

"You claim to be Snap's friend, but that's all a lie! If you were his friend, you wouldn't have hurt him like this! If you cared about him, you wouldn't have made the other zoners think he was the culprit! Do you have any idea what Snap's life was like when you framed him?! Do you have any idea the pain and torment you put him through?!"

There was a small pang of guilt in Sandra's chest. Even though she believed she was doing the right thing, she would be lying if she said she didn't feel some guilt about the whole thing. There were times she wanted to stop, but she knew she had to go through with it. She had to upkeep the integrity of the promise.

Rudy narrowed his eyes further. "You can cut the act now, Sandra. We know what you're really all about. And it's coming to an end right now!" Rudy pointed the chalk in her direction. "We are taking you into custody!"

Although she tried to stifle herself and hide her fear, Sandra still let out a gasp at this. She couldn't believe that they were still willing to do that to her. Even though she explained to them her motives, and how she had good intentions in the end, they weren't willing to see that. They were so small minded, that all they could see was the pain and suffering Snap was going through. They weren't seeing the positives.

This couldn't be happening..no... It couldn't be... She felt her world swirling around her, becoming a blur. She had worked so hard to get to where she was, and these kids...they were going to take that away from her. And for out? Delusions...misunderstandings...a refusal to listen and see reason... This..this was reminding her of when she was kicked out of that other place...

No. She wasn't going to let it happen again. Jyker may have gotten his way. He may have succeeded in driving her away from that place, which she had only stayed a very short time. But she would be damned if she allowed it to happen again. No running this time. She would stand her ground.

"You can't do this to me... You can't take away what is mine!" Sandra said, narrowing her eyes, meeting Rudy's own. "How can you even think of arresting me?! I've exerted more effort into finding a place to call home, a business to call my own, and I'm not letting someone like you take that way from me!"

"We wouldn't be doing this if you weren't committing these horrific acts of torture and murder." Mint said.

Penny nodded in agreement. "We would be fine with letting you stay. We did think you had a nice place that could have been a nice hang out for zoners." She narrowed her eyes. "But not if it means killing helpless zoners, and torturing others who didn't do anything to you."

"B-But Snap had..." Sandra started to say. Surely, they had to see that...

"Snap did not mean to ruin your precious machine." Mint said, cutting her off. "It had been an accident. But even if he did do it on purpose, it wouldn't be him that should be blamed." He pointed a finger at her. "It would be you."

"Me?!" Sandra snapped her head back in shock, her ears raising up. "But...but why..?"

Mint narrowed his eyes into slits. "Because you were the one who decided to bring harm to zoners. You are the one causing pain and misery. You were the one who tried to turn ChalkZone into a large grocery store. There's only one person to blame and that's you."

Sandra shook her head. "N-No..I..." She looked left and right. She felt her heart clench. Why couldn't these humans see what they were doing? Why couldn't they listen? Why...?

"Face it, Sandra. You've lost. No one is going to buy into your excuses. No one is going to believe in you anymore. No one is going to side with you. All they are going to see is a monster. Trust me, there are a number of zoners who would love to get their claws into you." Rudy took a couple steps towards Sandra. "We are doing you a favor. Come with us, and we can assure your safety. Stay here, and if and when the zoners find out, I cannot guarantee that you will have a pleasant experience."

Sandra spoke in a shaky voice. "But if you hate me, why would you...?"

Rudy narrowed his eyes. "Because we aren't like you. We aren't monsters ready to tear apart another all for a petty reason. We would rather not harm you if it didn't have to come to it. Besides, it's the justice system who will be responsible for your fate."

"H-How can you do this to me...?" Sandra asked.

Rudy growled at this. "How can you still ask that question? We already expressed our disgust for you when we found out that everything you ever told us was a lie! Don't you dare try to act innocent! Don't you try to win over our sympathy by feigning guilt!"

"That might have worked better if you didn't slaughter Doofus Rudy in cold blood." Said Penny. "But after that...how do you expect us to believe anything you say?"

Sandra gritted her teeth at this, but said nothing.

"So why don't you just cooperate with us. We promise we won't hurt you if you choose to come with us quietly. We will not allow harm to come to you should the zoners attempt to attack you." Rudy said sternly. "I swear upon my title as the Great Creator that you will be safe."

"But that depends on you." Mint said.

"If you resist, then we will be forced to fight you. We don't want to hurt you if we don't have to, but when it comes to protecting ChalkZone City, we will if we have to." Said Penny. "So please...cooperate with us. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

"Just put your hands behind your back, Sandra," Rudy said, raising his chalk. "And come with us."

Sandra couldn't believe it... The children were going to arrest her. They were going to ruin her business. They were taking away everything... It was just like what Jyker had done to her. That terrible memory was still fresh on her mind. Now, just when she thought she could move on, this happens. These three, whom she thought could be trustworthy, just stabbed her in the back. Just like Jyker..

Sandra could feel her blood coming to a boil. She felt her skin begin to heat up. Her mind ached and swirled with many thoughts. It was as though a storm was raging inside her skull. She felt her body tremble in anger, and she could have sworn that her vision clouded in red.

No..she was not going to allow that to happen again. She was not going to allow history to repeat again. These children...they were not going to drive her away from this place. She was not going let them. No...not this time...

As Rudy raised up his chalk, Sandra narrowed her eyes. Remembering the power she had used before, anger motivating her, she raised up her hand. She could feel the symbol her head warm up as it gave a soft glow. She shot her hand out towards Rudy and let out a feral, angry cry.

In an instant, Rudy's eyes bulged and his body stiffened up. His grip on the magic chalk loosened and it dropped to the ground. She hardly paid attention, her red eyes staring straight at Rudy. Growling softly, she began to twist her hand. Rudy shut his eyes, tears flowing down his face. He let out a scream as he dropped down onto his knees, his hands immediately shooting for his chest.

"Rudy!" Mint and Penny called out as they dropped down beside their friend, staring at him worriedly.

"Sandra! Stop!" Penny pleaded with her. "Let him go!"

"Come on! Don't do this! It doesn't have to be this way!" Mint begged.

Sandra ignored their pleas. All she was focused on was Rudy. He let out screams as she began to mess with his chest. The pain he must be going through was unbearable, but there was no other way. She had to punish him. She had to make sure he didn't dare try to hurt her again.

Her eyes widened slightly as she pulled her hand back. Rudy pulled his head back and let out a scream before he collapsed against the ground, his chin hitting against his stomach. She smirked at this and prepared for the next blow.

But she froze, realizing she couldn't finish it. Not yet. She could see Mint getting up from the ground and headed straight for her. She narrowed her eyes into slights. Oh no, he wasn't going to try anything against her. She then looked at Penny. She realized both of them were going to become a problem. She didn't want to teach just Rudy a lesson. They all needed to be taught. All of them deserved to be punished. She would take care of all three of them.

The room was soon filled with the screams of the children as Mint and Penny joined in the fray. They collapsed to the ground, each grabbing a different body part that she chose to attack. It was hard keeping this up. So much concentration was involved. But she did not let up. She knew this had to be done. There was simply was no other choice.

As she continued hurting the children, a thought ran through her mind.

Would this be enough to deter them, or were they going to remain stubborn and continue harassing her?

She hoped, for their sake, it would be the former.

sss

Pain...so much pain... Mint tried to cope with it. He tried to keep himself from screaming. But he failed. The loud screams that rang in his ears, he knew at least some of them were his. They echoed in the air, reverberating, echoing. They seemed to add to his torment, intermixing with the pain that now wrapped around his body.

Sandra was targeting his left leg, right where his foot had been cut off. Tears flowed down his face as he clutched his leg to himself. It felt like the stub was being pulled apart, and he had no doubt that was what was happening. He could practically feel his blood vessels being opened up, the wound undoing its own healing, becoming raw and painful once more.

The pain started to take him back in time, reminding him of how he had gotten this in the first place. He felt his heart fill with dread at the horrific memory. He tried to push back against it, but there was little he could do. The memory flowed into him like a river, forcing him to confront it.

He could see flashes of Skrawl in his head. He could see him standing over him. That twisted smile...those crooked teeth... those wickedly sharp claws... He could see the scene play in his mind. No matter how hard he tried to fight against it, it was useless. His mind tormented him, forcing him to sit through and rewatch the horrific incident over and over in his mind. A terrifying ordeal that no one should have to go through.

Skrawl had gotten fed up with his interference. He had wanted to teach him a lesson. He had knocked him into the ground. He had given him no chance to get away. Down the sword came, then the pain..oh gawd the pain... It took him only a second to register it. It exploded around his leg, spreading upward, gripping him in the most terrible agony. He wasn't even aware that his leg was cut off; all he knew was that he was in pain. He had lost strength fast. Rudy stood over him, trying to help him, then nothing.

Although Mint had little memories of what happened between getting attacked and waking up in the hospital, there were a few things that stuck to him like glue. The initial pain, and of course, Skrawl. He'd never forget the look that jellybean gave him... He'd never have that image removed from his mind.

The pain that was gripping him now, the pain that came about as a result of Sandra's torment of him, it was so much like that pain. He could almost feel the sharp blade cutting through his leg again, sawing at the bone and muscle, taking away a part of himself. It had taken him a while to get used to having no left foot, and this pain was reminding him of the hard journey.

He had to fight back somehow... But how? He was being swept with agony, and Rudy and Penny were in no better positions than he was. He tried to get up. The pain stopped him, forcing him back into the ground. He now laid on his stomach. He twisted himself, and pulled his leg against his chest. He let out a series of screams. Yet despite the pain, there was one thing he refused to do.

He did not beg. He refused to plead with this monster. He couldn't let himself sink that low. He couldn't let Sandra gain the upperhand. That was what the monster wanted them to do. She wanted them to plead for forgiveness. She wanted them to bend to her whim. He would not give her that luxury. He would not allow her to get one step above them like this. No matter how much pain he was in, he couldn't start begging. Don't beg...don't beg...

But how long could he keep this up? The agony was echoing in his head. It swirled around his skull, feeling like he was being pummeled at all sides. He struggled to keep himself from begging. But how long would that last?

Despite his worries, however, he continued to hold his ground. He glared over in Sandra's direction. He made sure to give her an expression to let her know he was not backing down. He didn't care when she snarled back at him. He refused to let her have any kind of victory.

That's when he saw it. Something behind Sandra. He tried not to react to it, but he couldn't stop his mind from exploding in confusion. He couldn't believe it.

Could...could it be...?

sss

Penny writhed on the ground, seething in pain. She held her arm against herself. The pain...it was so bad... She couldn't stop herself from crying. She wanted to beg and plead for Sandra to stop. She wanted it to just end.

But even the act of begging wouldn't help, nor could it be accomplished. Sandra seemed too angry to listen to reason, and she had her doubts that she would listen to their pleas. They would likely make her want to keep hurting them. And even if Penny tried to beg, it wouldn't work. Her screams robbed her of her ability to speak. The pain would make her scream any time she opened her mouth. That was all that could escape from her throat. Screams.

She wanted to do something, anything, to get away from it. She could see Rudy's magic chalk in front of her. She stared at it, taking in quick breaths. If she could just grab it, she could use it for a defense against Sandra. She just had to push back the pain and...

"Ahhhh!"

It was no use. The pain ripped into her arm, pulling it apart at the seams. It felt as though her tendons were being ripped up one by one. And each time this happened, she lost some mobility and strength in her arm. It was quaking in pain, and she could practically feel it vibrate in agony.

But she couldn't give up. She had to do something. She had to fight back. If she and her friends didn't do something... who knows how many more zoners would be hurt because of this? How much more damage would Sandra cause before she is finally caught? How long must the zoners suffer before they realize what she had been doing?

The memory of what Sandra had done to Snap was fresh on her mind. Not just Snap, but to the other zoners as well. All those zoners she had murdered, all just for some..some promise... It sickened her. And Doofus Rudy... she had tossed him into the blender like he was nothing, and shred him up while he was still awake and alive. She would never forget the screams...

And Sandra had the gall to act like she was the victim. She continued to act as though she did nothing wrong. She didn't seem to want to grasp the full gravity of her actions. Penny wasn't sure if this was deliberate, or if Sandra really did think this way.

Still, that did not excuse her actions. Sandra had a lot to answer to. She had commited grave offense after grave offense against the zoners. It was time that she owned up to what she had done. She had to face the consequences of her actions. She couldn't run from this anymore. She couldn't keep lying, trying to convince them of something that she wasn't. She had to admit her mistakes, and she had to pay for them.

As she was lost in her thoughts, she almost missed something moving behind Sandra. She blinked a few times. If she could, she would be rubbing her eyes right now. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

It was...

sss

Rudy's mind was bombarded with rage as his body was tormented by the pain. He held onto his stomach, quivering on the ground. He tried to cope with the intense pain. But it seemed almost as though the more he tried to ignore it, the worse it got.

The pain ripped up into his body, spreading all over. The worst was in his stomach. He could feel Sandra wrecking it with her powers. He could feel something opening up inside of him. He couldn't tell if this was the case or not, but regardless, his pain receptors were practically on fire. He would be shocked if they would continue to function after this; it felt like they were being deliberately overloaded.

He then began to cough as he felt something in his throat. A severe scratchiness a something sticky seemed to be clawing its way up. He let out a series of whimpers as he tried to clear his throat. What was this stuff anyway? Why did it feel as though he had some kind of...sticky slime moving on the inside of his mouth?

With a loud cough, he figured out what it was. His eyes widened in horror at it.

Blood...it was blood...

He was bleeding internally...

This realization sent waves of horror through his body. His shaking increased. His tears moved more rapidly. He felt as though his body was chilling, cooling down. He looked over at Sandra, wondering when she was going to stop. Please...she had to stop...

Realizing what he was about to do. Rudy shook his head. Holding onto his stomach tighter, feeling the whimpers and screams continue to exit out of his mouth, he realized that if he tried to beg, she might hurt him more. She was not interested in negotiations anymore. She wanted them to apologize. She wanted them to admit they were wrong. That would be the only thing to make her stop.

He couldn't do that. He couldn't step down from what he believed in. He couldn't allow this...this monster get what she wanted. She had been getting away with these murders for far too long. She had to be stopped. He couldn't allow her to win, to gain the upperhand.

He had to fight back. He had to get his magic chalk and draw something against her. He had to show her that she was not going to win. No matter what she tried, they would not cave in. They would continue to try to stop her, and the only ways they would stop is either they succeed..or they die. While he would prefer not to die, he would rather do that than budge an inch for her.

He could feel his blood heating up again as he remembered all that Sandra had done, especially to his friend, Snap. He remembered how Snap had looked up to her as a friend, how she had comforted him in his time of need. She had been lying to him then, taking advantage of him. The realization of this burned his mind, filling him with rage. He could feel his body shaking with intense emotion.

He just didn't get it. How could Sandra do such a thing? How could she hurt Snap and then act like it was okay? What kind of sick, twisted logic was that? How could she act like she was the victim when she hurt so many?

Well that was about to change. He and his friends would stop her. He didn't know how. He didn't know if they would succeed. But he knew they had to try. They couldn't allow her to win. They couldn't allow her to hurt more zoners. They would get out of this mess. They'd fight against the pain. They would fight back. They would fight her, and they would win. There was no way that Sandra would be permitted to keep hurting the zoners.

As long as they still had breath in their bodies, they would continue to fight back.

Then he saw something. He noticed his friends appeared to be looking at something behind Sandra. And when he looked, he couldn't stifle his gasp of shock. It was hard for him to fully realize what was going on. This...this couldn't be happening..right...?

Yet he knew it was true. There was no one else that could have been. There was no other explanation. With a quivering lip, horror and dread spreading through his body, fearing the worst, Rudy, through his pain, still clutching his stomach, he uttered a single word.

"S-Snap..?"

sss

"S-Snap..?"

Sandra widened her eyes at that declaration. She froze, not wanting to believe it. No, he couldn't be here. Not now... It wasn't time yet... He couldn't be so stupid as to break out of jail with his injuries. They needed more time to heal. Why would he...?

She wanted to think that the children were just trying to confuse her. She could see that she was causing them a lot of pain. They could be just trying to trick her into letting them go faster. Yeah, this could all be some kind of trick.

But those eyes...they didn't look fake. They looked just as shocked as she did. Sandra was certain that they weren't lying about this. They were speaking the truth. Slowly, she turned her head around to meet Snap. She barely had time to see a flash of blue before something solid collided with her cheek.

Letting out a cry of pain, she stumbled backwards. She released her grip on the three children as she hit against the ground painfully. She laid there on her back, pushing herself up on her hands. She rubbed her cheek where she had been punched. She looked over at where her attacker was, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Snap...?" Sandra asked in a low voice. "How...how did you...?"

Snap certainly had seen better days. He was quivering in pain, his eye twitching. His stance looked quite uneven, and it looked as though he could be easily knocked over. He was favoring his right foot over his left. Both legs appeared to be causing him pain. He looked like he had been hit by a truck.

Yet despite the pain, there he stood, a few feet away from her. He was fighting against the horrific pain as he defended his friends. She watched as he limped over in front of them. Each step caused him to whimper and seethe. But he still did it anyway. Part of her was worried. What if he hurt himself too badly? Yet another part was impressed. For him to endure this pain for his friends...that was quite an impressive feat.

Snap took in several shaky breaths. Tears flowed down his face. She knew they were at least in part due to pain. But he also looked...hurt and betrayed... This caused Sandra to freeze. Did someone feed him lies? Did he find out what she was doing, yet didn't get a chance to hear her side of the story? Oh no... Snap was going to think that...

She had to try to correct things before it was too late. Surely, Snap would understand once she told him everything. He would realize she didn't really want to hurt him, yet had no choice. She didn't care what the others said. Snap wouldn't...

"Let my friends go."

Sandra stared at Snap as he said that. She winced as she realized how cold that sounded. Not at all like how he would normally speak to her.

"Snap, please... I'm just trying to teach them a lesson." Sandra told him. She crawled back to her feet, her eyes never leaving Snap's. "I'm not going to kill them. Just...stay there and let me finish my work."

"Teach them a lesson? Like how you were teaching me one?" Snap growled at her. His face contorted not just in pain, but in anger. "Is this your idea of teaching lessons? By maiming people?!"

Sandra took in a few quick breaths, taking a step back. She didn't want to hurt Snap more. She had to try to make him see reason before her hand was forced. She didn't want to do it.. Please..he must understand.. "Please... this isn't what it looks like. I'm not being cruel. They refused to listen, and I am just making them listen. I don't enjoy doing this, but they forced my hand. Please, Snap... don't make me..."

"You've already hurt me." Snap said bitterly. There was barely controlled rage behind that statement. "You lied to me. You had been torturing me the past few weeks. Why should I believe anything you say?"

Sandra's eyes widened at this. She could feel her heart start to clench. She lowered her ears, licking her lips nervously. "Y-You know...?"

"You're darn right I know! I know everything! I remember it all! You lied to me! You tricked me into following you! You lured me into a back part of the building! You blew the place up! You placed a tumor in my head so I would forget it ever happened! You then pretended that you cared and acted like you were my friend!" Tears flowed down Snap's face. There was both anger and hurt laced on his voice. "I-I thought I could trust you...I thought I could consider you my friend.. But you... You weren't the zoner I thought you were..."

Sandra felt her heart skip a beat at this. She bit her lip, cringing away. Snap had gotten his memories back... B-But how...? He wasn't supposed to get them back until she could explain. Without it, Snap only got one side of the story. He didn't get the full picture. She..she had to remedy it quickly, before Snap did anything he might regret.

"Please, Snap..listen to me... I didn't torment you because I hated you. I...I like you. I do, really..." Sandra said, taking a small, tentative step forward. She froze when he growled at her. Her heart began to speed up. She did not back down. "I was just trying to make sure you didn't make the same mistake again. I wanted to be certain that you wouldn't hurt me again."

Snap's eyes widened slightly at this. But not in realization like she had hoped. Rather, it was out of anger. "Hurt you?! Is that what this is all about? You didn't want me to hurt you?!" Snap let out a few small whimpers of pain. He looked at her with one eye, his other shut tightly in pain. "So it's all about you isn't it?!"

"N-No..of course not.." Sandra held up her hands in defense. A part of her was almost worried he was going to lunge at her again. "That's not it at all!"

"Oh like I believe what you say!" Snap growled at her.

Sandra could feel her heart being ripped in two. She couldn't believe that Snap was acting this way. Why must he be so stubborn? She wanted to tell him the truth. She wanted to tell him why she did what she did. But he wasn't being reasonable right now. He was so angry, he was letting that cloud his judgment. He was not giving her a chance to explain. She wondered if this was because of whoever told him. Could they have worded things in such a way that it influenced Snap on a deep level?

Yeah, that had to be it. Snap just needed time to calm down. If his mind wasn't being ripped apart by the pain and anger, he could think more clearly. If he would just calm down, maybe they would see eye to eye. He would understand once he was relaxed. He just needed to be able to think more clearly, and she knew of a way to help him with that.

Sandra lowered her head slightly, the symbol on her head glowing. She could see Snap grimace, as if he thought she was going to hurt him. She stared at his legs, where he was hurting the most. She would relieve him of it.

Unlike what she did before, she took care to be gentle this time. She was not attempting to place a tumor, or cause pain. This time, she was going to use her powers on the more beneficial end of the spectrum.

It didn't take her long to perform it. She felt a little warm on the inside as she used her healing powers this way. She could hear Snap grunt and groan, but no cries, no shouts of pain. The only thing Snap would feel was a tingly sensation as his cells regenerated, producing new tissue, closing the old wounds. Sandra concentrated, keeping her powers at the right level as she fixed up his legs, repairing the damage that had been done to him.

Then it was all over. She exhaled deeply, looking at his legs once more. They were now fully repaired. Snap was no longer wincing in pain as much. He wasn't wobbling or about to fall. It was as if nothing had happened to his legs.

The small zoner looked down at his legs, lifting them up, testing them out. He pressed them against the ground as he made sure they were usable again. And when he did, he shot her a glare and took a few confident steps towards him. She cringed. This was not how she thought he'd respond.

"Do you think healing me is going to make it all better?" Snap asked coldly. "Do you think that if you fix my legs, it's going to make me forget what you put me through? Do you know what it was like in prison, Sandra? Do you know how many zoners wanted to beat me up when I just looked at them? Do you know what it's like having a room mate who always hurt you every single day?"

Sandra gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, Snap..."

Snap growled at this. "You're not sorry! Don't you fucking dare lie to me!" Sandra winced at this. "You already proved to me what kind of person you really are! I once thought I could call you my.. friend.." He ground his teeth together. He practically had to spit out the last word. "I...I hate you..."

Those words stung Sandra's heart. She took a step back, her lower lip quivering. "S-Snap... don't..." She reached out towards him. "Please, it doesn't have to be like this. Just listen to me.."

Snap, however, would have none of it. He slapped her hand away. She held it against herself, staring at Snap wide-eyed. Seeing him look at her that way, seeing all that misplaced anger being sent in her direction... It felt as though her heart had been shattered into a million pieces and then was stuffed back into her chest.

"Don't you dare touch me..." Snap growled.

Sandra licked her lips and swallowed hard. She couldn't believe it. Snap was refusing to listen to her. She looked left and right, trying to think of what she was going to do. She...she had to make him see reason. But as long as he stood there, so long as he was able to talk, he was not going to listen.

She had to make him listen.

Sandra raised up her hand. At this, Snap's eyes flashed in fear. She looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Snap. But this is the only way. Please..hold still.."

She didn't get far. Without warning, something wrapped around her body, pinning her arms against her chest. She let out a grunt of surprise at this, and before she had time to fully comprehend what was going on, she was yanked backwards. She let out a scream as she hit the ground painfully, her chin hitting the hard surface, biting her own tongue, forcing her to taste her own blood.

She opened her eyes and looked up. She could see Rudy standing there. He had something in his hand. She quickly realized it was a piece of rope. He tugged on it hard, and she felt the rope around her tighten, making her gag. She then realized that he had tied not just her arms, but her legs as well. She kicked them in an attempt to free herself.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Rudy shouted.

Penny shot a nervous look to Sandra. "But what about her...? What if she...?"

"Don't worry! I contacted the police!" Snap said as he joined Rudy in running out. "They will get here before she has a chance to escape! Now let's go!"

Mint said, "Right behind you!"

Sandra watched as they all fled away. They headed straight for the door that led to her restaurant. Her heart twisted at this, cold realization wash through her. No... They couldn't do this to her... No, it couldn't end like this.

"Stop! Come back! Please!" Sandra pleaded with them. But they ignored her. "Come back! Let's talk!"

But they did not listen to her. Soon they reached the door, going right through it. This caused her heart to skip several beats, almost stopping altogether. She shook her head in denial. She knew what was going to happen if she allowed them to go through. She was going to lose everything again. She was going to unfairly suffer all because they refused to see reason.

Why couldn't they listen to her? Why couldn't they understand? Why couldn't they see what she was trying to do? Why must they do this to her?

The torrent of confusion and emotions overwhelmed her, and she began to cry softly. Tears stained her cheeks. It was happening again.. Just like before... No, this was much worse.

No... She wouldn't let it... She narrowed her eyes, glaring at where the children disappeared. She would stop them. Even if she had to kill them... She would not allow them to ruin her life, the way Jyker did. She didn't want to kill them, but she will if she had to.

She began to struggle, thrashing on the ground. She glared towards the open door, still seeing their retreating forms.

"I'll stop you! I'll make you never get a chance to hurt me! Do you understand me?! I will see to it that you four never take action against me again! I promise!"

She didn't know if they heard her, but it didn't matter. She just made her declaration. Her eyes shined with renewed determination as she struggled harder against her binds. There was no going back now. She had made her promise...

And she never backs out of a promise.


	33. The Crack Of Bone

The end...? The song writer's dead! The blade fell upon him...

-The Poet And The Pendulum, Nightwish

sss

"Hurry up!"

"Let's get going!"

Snap could hear his friends calling out to him. He could see them up ahead, looking at them worriedly. He seethed in pain, clenching his teeth. He had to get moving. He had to move faster.

Keeping his hand on the wall, he started to move a little faster. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break into a full run. That was impossible. Although he had managed to fight against the pain earlier, that was because Sandra caused enough anger to rise inside of him to temporarily deflect the agony. But just like anything, the adrenaline didn't last long, and now he was struggling to move.

The pain in his left foot hurt worse of all. It was a bombardment of pain in the ankle, swirling around and coating some of his leg and foot. Even when he wasn't pressing down on it, he could feel the pain. He knew he shouldn't be running around like this, but to help his friends...he knew he had no choice.

Dr. Gelcro didn't want him coming here like this. The husky had tried to argue in favor of a different plan. However, Snap disagreed with it, stating that it would end up taking longer than necessary. He was the one who knew where the machine was, and he was certain that would be where his friends were, if they had realized the truth. While it was a long shot, Snap felt it was the best place to start looking.

And he had turned out to be right.

He was glad he found his friends. He was happy to see them again. It hadn't been that long, but it felt as though it was ages since he had last seen them. He was grateful that Sandra hadn't tried to hurt them too badly yet. If she had injured them and he wasn't there to stop her, he'd never forgive himself.

"Please, Snap! Hurry!" Mint cried. "We don't know how much longer Sandra will be distracted!"

Snap smiled at Mint. "Oh don't worry. She will be busy for a while."

"What makes you so sure?" Penny asked, confused.

Snap gave them a slightly mischevious smile. "Did you think I came here alone?"

The three children's eyes widened in realization. Snap just smiled at this, remembering what he and Dr. Gelcro had discussed. Though Dr. Gelcro did eventually agree to let him go, he only did so under the circumstance that backup was brought with.

Of course Snap would agree to that. He never planned on confronting Sandra alone. That would have been crazy, especially in his condition. So he and Dr. Gelcro agreed on having backup follow further behind him so Sandra doesn't realize they are there. Now that she is trapped and unable to move, the backup could come over and apprehend her before she could make her move.

Snap felt a sense of satisfaction cling to his chest. He was glad that he and Dr. Gelcro were able to set up a method on catching Sandra and stopping her. Things turned out better than he had expected. Sandra was stopped and at this very moment, the other zoners, including Dr. Gelcro and Dr. Crobat, would be apprehending Sandra, and she would be sent to jail. And best of all, no one got seriously hurt. He was able to get out of there without Sandra succeeding in hurting him. Things were finally going their way.

His thoughts were interrupted by the tremendous pain in his ankle. He winced and nearly fell down. He was stopped when Penny grabbed onto him and held him up. He looked up at her gratefully. She allowed him to use her as brace, and he leaned on her. With Penny's help, he was able to move a little faster.

As they kept going, Rudy said, "I sure hope that backup of yours knows what they are getting into..."

Snap looked up at Rudy at this. The way he spoke those words...it wasn't very promising. "What...what do you mean, Bucko?"

Penny looked down at him, her eyes wide. "Snap...you mean you don't know what Sandra is capable of...?"

That sounded even more concerning. Snap could feel his heart clenching tightly, ready to burst. He smacked his lips together nervously. The way his friends were looking at him... It was obvious they knew something he did not. Was there something he had missed earlier?

"W-Well..." Snap stuttered, looking left and right. "I know she did something to put a tumor in my head. That was how I was unable to remember anything in that time frame. But..." He clenched his teeth, a worried look plastering over his face. "I don't know what else she could do.

The trio fell silent at this. Not from shock, but from uncertainty. There was clearly an angle of Sandra he didn't know about, and it was enough to shake them up. Even their running had slowed down as emotion began to seep into their heads. They exchanged worried glances, often looking at Snap. The small zoner became more and more worried the longer they looked at him this way.

Thoughts raced through his head. He wondered just how long he and his friends were trapped with Sandra. He wondered what had them all spooked. What had Sandra done that made them feel so afraid? Was it related to the bad smell? He recalled there was a foul stench. Could their fear be connected to that somehow?

If it was then...then...

Just what was that smell anyway? Why did it stink so bad in there? And why hadn't he smelled that before? Yeah, there was a smell of some kind from his last visit, but this was stronger, and more potent. It made him want to vomit.

Penny, Mint, and Rudy looked at him sympathetically. They had caught notice of his expression, and they must have realized what he was thinking about. Their expressions did little to comfort him, and he swallowed nervously.

"What...what did she..?" Snap managed to choke out. He couldn't speak anymore, his voice getting caught on his throat.

Rudy bit his lip. He stared at Snap in the eyes, mantaining eye level. He could tell that Rudy was trying to be brave, but underneath that courageous exterior, Snap could see just how frightened he was. Mint tried to say something, but he, too, was unable to make any kind of reply. It made Snap wonder even more just what went on before he had arrived.

"Snap..." Penny was the one who managed to break the uncomfortable silence between his question and an answer. "Sandra has healing powers."

Snap tilted his head at this. Healing powers? That didn't seem so bad. Why did it have his friends spooked? It wasn't like Sandra could do much harm with healing...could she...?

Rudy spoke up upon seeing Snap's expression. "She can use these powers to hurt people. Something about accelerating the rate of cell division..creating tumors..."

Snap's eyes bulged at that. "I-Is that how she..?"

Mint nodded his head. "Yeah. That was how she put the tumor in you." He pause for a moment. "And she can use it from a distance, too!"

"What?!" Snap cried in disbelief. "A-Are you sure..?!"

Penny, tightening her grip on him as they kept moving, nodded her head solemnly. "Yeah.. She almost never even touched us. Most of the time, she kept her distance as she used her powers on us." Her eyes widened. "And she was able to use her powers on more than one of us at a time."

Snap felt his mind go numb at this. Powers from a distance? Able to attack more than one person at a time? Oh no... The backup... What if they were in trouble? What if Sandra was..?

Snap shifted his body around. Alarmed, Penny held onto him tighter, yanking him back in the direction they were going in. Snap, despite his pain and fear, kept fighting against her, his eyes glued at the back entrance where they had just fled from. He had to get back there and help Dr. Crobat and the others out. If he didn't, then Sandra was going to...

"Snap, come on! We need to get out of here!" Mint cried. "If we don't and nobody spreads the word or warn the zoners, then Sandra..."

"We have to get back there! They could be in trouble!" Snap cried, his voice having a panicky edge to it. "Please, we can't leave them alone!"

"Snap! Please! We have to leave!" Rudy moved in front of Snap. The zoner looked up at him, staring at him pleadingly. Rudy gave him a stern yet sympathetic look. He reached out and touched Snap on the shoulder. "I know you just want to help them. I want to as well. But we can't stay here. We need to tell the zoners what Sandra has been doing."

"She's been killing and feeding zoner meat to her customers, as well as herself." Mint said, his voice laced in disgust. "And not animal zoners either... Sentient zoners, like Doofus Penny..."

Snap's eyes widened at this, a sense of nausea boiling in his stomach. "She..she has been doing what..?"

He couldn't believe it... Sandra..she was..she was a cannibal.. She was eating other zoners. She had been killing other zoners. That's what the specials were...weren't they? They were zoner meat that she ahd prepared. That meant that, the entire time that the zoners had been going there for food, they were unknowingly eating the flesh of their own kind.

Snap held his stomach, fighting back the urge to throw up. That was just gross and disgusting. How could Sandra do that? How could she kill sentient zoners and feed them to the customers? Did she not see just how sick and twisted that was? Did she not see just how wrong that was to do?

Doofus Penny... Did Sandra really kill her just to obtain her meat? The thought sent chills down Snap's spine. He had already begun to hate Sandra before for how she treated him. But now it was reaching a boiling point when he realized how she had been murdering zoners to serve as food. How...how revolting...

But though this information made him want to go after Sandra even more, he knew that was not the best option. His friends were right. If Sandra had the powers they said she did, then if they went back to there to try to stop Sandra, they could be caught as well. If they were to tell as many zoners as possible about what she was doing, then they would be on the alert and they could fight back. Sandra would stand little chance at stopping them all, and she would finally be apprehended.

Giving a nod to his friends, he said, "Okay.. Let's go..."

sss

Sandra could feel her claws finally cutting through the rope. She had to twist her ankle in a way that she had never done before. She soon managed to slice the claw into the rope, cutting through it like it were a hot stick of butter. She felt the ropes snap, and her legs loosened up. She pulled and tugged with her legs to get the rope off of her.

Then she forced herself onto her back. She had to use every ounce of strength and flexibility she had to get her feet close to her stomach where the rope was. She had to shut her eyes tightly as she felt her bones and muscles and tendons stretching to their absolute limits. It took a lot of effort, and by the time she could feel her claws hit against the ropes, she practically could feel her back crack, her face reddened.

She made quick work of the rope. She sliced through it like it was nothing. She felt the pressure instantly leave her as the ropes fell down. She slowly stood up onto her feet and rubbed her arms gently. The ropes were on her pretty tightly. She was glad that was over. Now if she could just find...

She stared at the door. She wondered just how far the children had gotten while she was down. It had taken her a while to get herself free. No doubt they managed to get to the front of the restaurant. Her heart twisted at this. If they managed to turn more zoners against her... No, she would not allow that to happen.

Sandra made her way towards the door, her eyes narrowing in determination. She could catch up to the children. She would find them and stop them. And after she did, she would make sure that they would no longer be a trouble to her.

She would promise them that.

She didn't get too far, however, when she heard some footsteps behind her. Rapid, heavy, quick, and there was more than one pair. Her eyes widened at this realization. She froze where she was, the sudden shock keeping her from moving anywhere.

She couldn't help but have flashes in the back of her mind, images of the past, white flash after white flash. Again she was reminded of what happened in the last place she lived in. She hadn't lived there long, yet she had quickly garnered an unfair reputation. Now it was going to happen again. It was just like before. The police escort...

Slowly, she turned her head so that she could look over her shoulder. Her wide eyes could see the figures quickly approaching her. And before she knew it, a group of five zoners suddenly appeared. They formed a wide circle around her before she could even speak, and all of them had some kind of weapon pointed at her.

"Freeze!" One of the zoners shouted. "Stay right where you are!"

Sandra looked all around. She could see three police officers, and the remaining two were doctors. She did not recognize the officers too well, but the doctors, she knew as Dr. Crobat and Dr. Gelcro. All of them wore glares and were staring at her hatefully, determined to stop her. Five individual weapons were pointed at her, and she knew if she made a single wrong move, she was going to be in big trouble.

Sandra took in a few quick breaths, trying her best to keep herself calm. She couldn't panic. Not now. She had to keep herself from going insane. She knew that if she made one wrong move, she could be shot. And she couldn't just use her powers on all of them at once; she didn't think she'd have the strength to attack five zoners at one time. She would have to be careful with what her next moves were going to be, to ensure her safety and the future of her restaurant.

"Hello officers..." Sandra said softly, keeping her voice as controlled as possible. "What brings you here?"

"Don't play dumb!" Dr. Crobat snarled, his beak gritted. "We know what you've been doing!"

"You better not try to deny it!" Dr. Gelcro narrowed his red eyes dangerously, his ears lowering.

Sandra looked around at the zoners, nothing their expressions. No one was without an angered, disgusted looked. She realized that Snap must have told them what happened. How he remembered, she wasn't sure. And right now, that no longer mattered. It was too late to fix that problem right now. She had to retreat, while she still had the chance.

But as she started to turn, there was a blur, and she nearly tumbled back when she saw Dr. Gelcro standing before her, his lips curled back into a snarl. He had jumped from his last position to here, moving much faster than she had thought a dog could move. She now found herself staring down the barrel of his gun and, clenching her teeth and lowering her ears, she took a few steps back.

"Please...you've got this all wrong.." Sandra tried to say.

"Shut up!" One of the officers said.

The second one leveled his gun towards her. "You will not get away with what you've done!"

"You tricked us into thinking Snap was the culprit.. When it was you all along..." The third officer said, "You disgust me.."

Sandra took in a few quick breaths. She could tell this wasn't going to end well. If she didn't get out of here soon, then all was going to be lost. She couldn't afford to lose everything she had. Not again. She had find a way to convince them to let her go. She had to get them to listen to her, so they didn't make the same mistake those other zoners in the past did. They had to hear her out.

But judging from their expressions...she knew this was not going to be the case so much. They didn't look like they were willing to listen to reason. They had come here to arrest her, and they weren't going to let her tell her side of the story. They were going to listen to just Snap's words, without considering that there was a good reason why she did what she had done.

She took a small step to one side. She flinched when she heard the clanging of a gun as one of the officers was preparing to shoot her. In fact, he would have if another officer didn't settle him down. This made Sandra clench her teeth. Just what had Snap told them?

Snap...she hoped she could mend things soon before it became irreversible. Snap was quite infuriated with her. He was letting his emotions get in the way of proper judgment. He saw her as a monster now. She could kind of understand, but he needed to learn to see things from different perspectives. If he were just willing to see the world through her eyes, then he would understand her. Right now, he understood nothing, and he'd never comprehend the truth until he took the time to listen to her.

But for now, she had to get herself out of here. She needed time to regroup her thoughts and figure out how she was going to resolve this situation without getting chased out or arrested. She..she didn't want to...

"Put your hands up where we can see them!"

Sandra jerked in surprise at this. Dr. Gelcro had apparently to got tired of her silence and barked a command at her. She lowered her ears she started at him in the eyes. Then, gritting her teeth, she took a small step back and started to raise her hands into the air slowly.

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. "That's better. Now keep them there while we prepare for your escort."

"My escort...?" Sandra asked.

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. "We are locking you up. There is no chance for you to get out of this, Sandra. Snap told us all about what you have done."

So it was Snap... Sandra wasn't surprised. With how angry he was, it didn't really shock her too much that he would have told the officers what happened. Of course he would go into an emotionally-fueled rage and spout out everything that she had done without even thinking of the other side of the coin.

A part of Sandra was hurt by this. She had thought Snap would be more willing to listen than that. Then again, he was just angry. It was her fault trying to explain to him when he was in such a rage. She should have found a way to calm him down first before she attempted to speak to him. If she had done that, then maybe things could have turned out better.

"Dr. Crobat." Dr. Gelcro turned his head to the bird-like doctor. "Prepare the evacuations. We need to get ready for the destruction workers to come over."

Sandra felt her heart skip a beat at this. "Th-The what...?"

Dr. Gelcro glared over at her. "We are demolishing this building. We are going to blow it up sky high, so you will no longer have any access to your equipment. You will not be able to hurt anyone ever again."

Sandra shook her head. "No...! You can't do that!"

One of the officers hissed at this. "Oh we can...and we will!"

Dr. Crobat nodded his head. "You had your chance, Sandra. You would have been more welcomed if you didn't use your abilities to torment and kill other zoners. You put yourself into this situation, and now you must pay the price."

"Y-You're wrong!" Sandra spluttered. No, this couldn't be happening... No... "Y-You just don't understand! None of you understand!"

"She's getting hysterical! Somebody! Grab her!" Dr. Gelcro shouted.

Immediately, the three officers rushed over. Sandra watched them as they approached her. She widened her eyes as she let the reality of the situation sink in. Not only was she going to lose everything, but these...these beasts were going to destroy her restaurant, the one place that seemed to take her the longest to build and set up. She had worked hard to mantain it, and they were about to snatch it away.

She felt her body trembling. Her mind was racing, sending aches and pains throughout her skull. She gripped her head, trying to cope with the torrent of emotions rushing through her. She had to keep herself under control. She had to focus on escaping...

...but would that work? And how long? If she just ran away, these zoners would spread the word. They would get their comrades and come after her. They would remain a threat to her unless she did something now. She realized she had to do something about them now. Even if word had already spread, she had to fight back. She had to stop them from destroying her restaurant. She had to stop them from ruining everything.

As the three officers came closer, as she was encircled from all sides, something seemed to give way inside of her. A realization dawned on her. She didn't want to do it. She wished she didn't have to resort to this, but there was only one way she could defend herself.

She closed her eyes, and then they reopened, her pupils shrinking. Her triangle symbol began to glow. In an instant, the three officers froze, their bodies stiffening up, eyes bulging in agony.

"I didn't want to do this, but you left me no other choice..." Sandra raised her hand up as the three officers stared at her in fear. Dr. Gelcro and Dr. Crobat cringed, terror washing over their faces. "Now...leave!"

All eyes widened, and suddenly there was a chorus of bloodcurdling screams.

sss

"Aaaahhh!"

Rudy stiffened at that, as did his friends. He looked at the others, noting their expressions. They all exchanged nervous glances, teeth gritted nervously.

Screams... There were screams back there, where they had come from. They bounced off the walls, reverberating in their chests, echoing in the chambers of their hearts. They could feel their blood chilling, turning into ice. There were many screams sounding off together, creating one huge one that repeatedly swept through the hallway.

Horror crawled up the back of everyone's necks. They could tell all the screams were clearly masculine, and that meant only one thing. The reinforcements were all being attacked, and Sandra was the culprit.

A part of Rudy wanted to rush back there and help them. It wasn't like him to just abandon someone in need. Sandra was hurting them...perhaps trying to get them into her filthy machine. But if they all went, they'd all get caught in her power. As much as he hated to do it, he knew he and the others had no choice but to continue moving towards the front. They may not be able to save the back up, but they could save more zoners by getting in the restaurant and warning the zoners of Sandra.

It may take some time. They didn't know how far the restaurant was from here. But he knew they had to try.

He looked at his friends' faces. He could see how shocked and horrified they were. None of them had moved in several seconds. This realization made his heart speed up. While he understood his friends were in a state of shock, they couldn't stand here for long. They were wasting time. Sandra could be upon them any moment.

"Come on! Let's get going!" Rudy shouted as he pushed against his friends, urging them to go down further. "While we still have a chance!"

"But..." Snap looked down the hallway. "What about...?"

"We can't help them!" Rudy flinched at the expressions he got, especially from Snap. He sighed softly and looked at them all with a sympathetic look. "Even if we head back now, by the time we get there, it could be too late. But if we keep up, we could get out of here before Sandra finds us, and we could warn the rest of the zoners. We could save more lives then. If we go back, we not only would lose the back up anyway, but Sandra could kill us too."

Mint, Penny, and Snap glanced at one another. They were all so hesitant and unsure. Yet there was also some understanding in their eyes. They knew Rudy was right. They would not abe able to do anything for the back up zoners, no matter how fast they rushed back there. And judging from the screams, those zoners only had a few moments left anyway.

They had no choice but to continue running.

"No! Not my leg! Please!"

Rudy and his friends flinched at this, cold dread rushing through their spines. They shivered as they looked at each other, and then down the hallway. And as they heard a resounding, sickening grunch, they knew what had happened.

Rudy turned to his friends, making quick gestures with his hands, fighting against the pain of Sandra's attack on him. This time, his friends did not argue or talk back. The three friends, trying their best to ignore the horrific screaming and pleas echoing in the hallways, ran as fast as they could. The sooner they got out of here, the sooner they could warn the zoners.

Rudy hoped that they would have enough time to fulfill their mission.

sss

Dr. Crobat laid on the ground in absolute agony. He let out a series of whimpers, trying to cope with the pain that gripped his body. He tried to ignore the horrific smell of blood everywhere. But it kept invading his nostrils, preventing him from escaping from the gruesome reality that was before him.

He took his time to look around the room, a single eye open, the other shut in twitching pain. He could see the vicinity all around him was coated in blood. Dark red fluid that stained the ground, filling the air with its iron-like heavy stench. Even with his relatively weak nose, he could smell it plain as day.

But it wasn't just the blood that caught his attention, held him in the grips of terror. It was what was laying in the blood that really got the shivers going in his back.

It was the police officers... All three of them were laying down in massive pools of blood. Sandra had attacked them all at once. She used...some kind of power on them... He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, and at the moment, he was too shaken to really think of what type of power she had specifically. All he was aware of was that she used this power to rip them up from the inside out. She had attacked a leg on each of them, causing the flesh to rip off as growths appeared underneath.

And that had just been the beginning.

Dr. Crobat wasn't sure what prompted Sandra to suddenly attack like this. Was it fear? Anger? Something else? Whatever it was, something caused Sandra to act in violent ways none of them new possible, and with her powers, she had gravely injured the police officers, and then came the claws...

Sandra ripped into them, disemboweling all three of them without much trouble. Their guts laid strewn on the ground, adding to the horrible smell. The officers had thrashed and convulsed on the ground, their screams echoing and raging in his ears. They soon gurgled as blood poured out of their mouths, and they died.

Dr. Crobat stared at their mutilated corpses. His mind was numb, in disbelief. When Dr. Gelcro came for his aid, when he explained the situation with Snap and what they had to do, this wasn't what he thought would be the end result. If he had known that they would be inadvertantly leading zoners to their deaths, he would have...

Dr. Crobat let out a couple of coughs as he looked over at Dr. Gelcro. The dog zoner laid on the ground, unmoving, silent. He was covered in gashes and blood, and he was unconscious. Dr. Crobat felt his heart clench as he stared at his fellow doctor and friend. He had never wanted to see him like this...

And he himself was no better. He could feel his body echoing in pain, rippling through every pore of his body. His right leg was heavily damaged, with large gashes missing. His stomach and side had been torn into, though not as badly as the police officers. He had some massive bruising in various places, and he had smaller cuts that grazed him. The wounds reminded him of what had happened when he and Dr. Gelcro had tried to stop Sandra when she was hurting the police officers.

Sandra had attacked them with her claws, fists, and even her tail. She had been quite agile, more so than he had expected. She dodged their attacks with ease, ripping into them whenever she could. She knocked them into the ground several times, either by slamming into them, or kicking them, or striking them with her tail. Her tail spikes were a force to be reckoned with, causing some of the most severe damage, aside from her talons.

They had tried to keep up with her. They tried to bite, kick, claw their way to safety, or at least shoot her. But Sandra was one step ahead of them. She stopped them at every turn, her emotions empowering her with what she needed to fight back. She was unstoppable, a terrifying force as she tore them apart.

Now Sandra stood in the middle of the room, panting heavily. She looked exhausted, covered in blood. Mostly her victims' blood as she was hardly struck herself. Her eyes had a semi-feral look to them as her sharp teeth glinted in the little light that was available here. She slowly looked over at him, and he could feel his heart skipping a beat. He wanted to run, to flea, but he remained frozen where he was, on the ground, and in pain.

Sandra looked over at Dr. Gelcro. His eyes widened in horror. No...no she couldn't... Dr. Crobat struggled up to his feet. He staggered forward as the horrendeous pain gripped him. He seethed, letting out a whimper or two. Sandra just continued staring at his friend, her expression unreadable.

"N-No..please..d-d-don't hurt him...!" Dr. Crobat pleaded with her. At this, Sandra turned her head, giving him a sideways glance. "Leave him alone!"

Sandra just stared at him for a few moments. Without moving from that spot, she said, "None of you let me explain my view on things. None of you allowed me a chance to tell you why I did what I did. You all are trying to take away something that is mine, that belongs to me. So tell me..." She narrowed her eyes a little more. "Why should let any of you get that chance..?"

Dr. Crobat swallowed hard, looking left and right. It soon dawned on him that the reason for Sandra's devastating...reaction had been the result of her wanting to preserve her restaurant. There was something about this place that she was overprotective of. Something about it that caused her to become more violent when it was threatened.

This realization did little to comfort him. Regardless if his hunch was right or not, that did squat for him right now. Even if he said he would call them off, would it be enough to stop her from hurting him? Somehow, he had his doubts. She was going to keep attacking him regardless. She was certainly mad enough to do that.

He didn't bother to reply to her statement. He didn't try to tell her she was wrong. In her state, that would probably increase the odds of her attacking him. All he could do was watch as she approached him slowly.

His heart race against his chest. What was she going to do with him and Dr. Gelcro? Would she spare them? Or did she plan on killing them just like she did the officers? Was she going to spill their insides onto the groound, raking their bodies up with her talons and spikes? A part of him wanted to ask, but the other was too frozen in terror to say anything.

As Sandra lifted up her hand, Dr. Crobat winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. When it did not come, he opened up one eye. He looked over at Sandra in confusion, wondering what had stopped her.

"I hope you understand I didn't really want to do this." Sandra said. Her voice was dark, but not to the same point as it was before. "I had hoped to avoid this. But you all gave me no choice."

Dr. Crobat stared at her when she said this. He could feel anger creeping in his stomach. Was she seriously trying to pit all the blame into them? Was she going to overlook her own actions and try to say that they are the only ones at fault? Regardless of his anger, though, he dare not snap at her, for fear of a worse reaction.

Sandra took note of his silence. "Are you thinking about what you have done? I hope so." She turned her head and looked down the hallway. "I hope Snap has time to cool down and think about what he has done as well." Her expression softened up. "I hope he understands how much he hurt me..."

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Crobat did his best to keep his voice sounding calm. "You have been tormenting him for weeks. How is it that he needs to apologize to you? Why not the other way around."

Sandra gave a quick chuckle at this. "I figured you wouldn't understand. None of you have, despite me explaining it."

"Then try." Dr. Crobat said. Sandra simply stared at him. "Go on. Try to justify your actions. I'll listen."

Sandra cocked up an eyebrow. She tilted her head to one side. She looked at Dr. Crobat, her expression somewhat unreadable. He wondered if she even believed him, if she was going to call him a liar and attack him on the spot. He had no idea what to expect from her, and he braced himself for the worst.

Sandra took some more steps towards him. Dr. Crobat cringed at this, unsure of what to think she'd do. Those eyes, still so full of anger, they bored through his soul, making him shiver. Regardless, he didn't attempt to get away; there was little place he could go. He could only watch as the dragon zoner got closer to him, and soon she was kneeling down in front of him. They locked eyes for several moments, and then Sandra reached over and seized him by his lower jaw.

"You will...listen...?" Sandra asked, raising one ear up. "Are you sure you will?"

Dr. Crobat nodded. "Yes."

Sandra asked, "You won't interrupt me? No stopping my story and saying how unfair or stupid it was?" Dr. Crobat shook his head. "You will listen to the whole story?"

Dr. Crobat nodded his head. "You have my word." He placed his flatted wing hand against his head, almost in solute.

Sandra looked at him for a few seconds, raising part of her lip as she seemed to try to decide whether or not to believe him. Dr. Crobat remained quiet, waiting for her answer. He knew that his survival could very well depend on whether or not she says yes. The longer she said nothing, the more he got worried that something was going to go wrong.

Then Sandra closed her eyes and sighed. "Very well then. I'll tell you." She put her face close to his. "But...! You are not to say a word while I'm talking! Do you hear me?" She pointed a finger finger against him.

"Crystal clear." Dr. Crobat said.

"Good..." Sandra pulled her head back. "Here's the deal. You see..."

Suddenly, there was a flash of color in front of Dr. Crobat's eyes. He shook his head, stunned by this sudden movement. He scrambled back, trying to get away. He heard a growl, and his heart raced. Had some kind of beast snuck into here? How many of these wild animals were roaming around if that were the case?

He kept his eyes shut as he heard growling, snarling, and crashes into the ground. He could hear Sandra give a surprised cry, and then a series of warnings. Whoever was attacking her apparently wasn't listening, and he heard Sandra, and the beast, give screams of pain as they slashed one another. Dr. Crobat didn't dare move, afraid to open his eyes, afraid to see just what kind of creature he would have to go up against next.

Then there was silence. Not a word or growl to be heard. Dr. Crobat still remained where he was, pressed against the ground, his eyes shut, arm over his head protecively. He remained there, shivering, waiting and hoping that he would be left alone.

He could hear footsteps coming his way. He could hear the growling of the intruder. He let out a soft whimper, cringing up into a shivering ball. He waited and prayed that he would be spared. He knew that, if the beast so pleased, there was little he could do to defend himself. All he could do was lay there and hope it will all turn out all right in the end.

Then he felt a gentle nudge against his face. He opened up his eyes and saw who it was. His eyes widened in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Mosaic?" Dr. Crobat said in a soft voice. "H-How did you...?"

Mosaic tilted her head to the side at this. She took a step closer, lowering her head beside him. Dr. Crobat wrapped his arms around her muscular neck. She pulled back, letting him hang onto her. Dr. Crobat pushed himself up onto his feet slowly. He winced in pain a few times, making sure to use Mosaic as leverage so he wouldn't fall down.

"Thank you, Mosaic." The bird said. "Thank you..."

Dr. Crobat didn't know how the crocodile zoner came in here. He didn't know how she had managed to find him, or know where to look. He didn't know how she managed to walk far with her injuries. But it didn't matter right now. He was just glad she was here. She had proven that she was still an ally, and a companion he could count on. He smiled gratefully at her. If she could, she would return the gesture.

Suddenly Mosaic's body stiffened up and she let out a loud screech of pain. Dr. Crobat looked on in horror as her her eyes bulged, her pupils shrinking into slits. Dr. Crobat looked over, and he could see Sandra standing there. She had blood stains all over her, some of it her blood from Mosaic's claws and teeth.

"You..you just don't know when to quit, do you?!" Sandra snarled. "Well I promise I will make sure you don't become a nuisance to me again!"

With that, Sandra forced her hand towards the ground. As if on cue, Mosaic let out a roar of pain as she slammed into the ground, her leg starting to peel open from Sandra's powers. The dragon zoner then rushed towards her, seizing her by the neck with her foot. She lifted up Mosaic and, with a nasty grin, tossed her against the ground, watching her roll.

Sandra was about to make another move when Dr. Crobat, unable to take it anymore, rushed at her. He turned his body to the side and, using his shoulder, slammed against Sandra. The dragon zoner let out a surprised cry as Dr. Crobat managed to knock her away, sending her stumbling backwards across the ground. She regained her footing and she stared at Dr. Crobat in shock before narrowing her eyes.

Dr. Crobat stood in front of Mosaic protectively. "She's had enough, Sandra." He said sternly, arching his back slightly in defense. "Leave her alone..."

Sandra snarled, "I knew you would be just like the rest of them..." She turned her head towards one direction. She looked there for several seconds, and snorted. She turned her head back and glared at Dr. Crobat. "I don't have time to waste on you anyway. I have some...important business to take care off first..."

Dr. Crobat was confused by this. What exactly did she mean? But before he could ask, Sandra disappeared, running out of sight. He looked at where she disappeared to, and pondered for a few moments what she could be talking about.

It didn't take him long to realize what she was talking about. His eyes bulged in horror.

"Snap!" He cried.

sss

Mint winced each time he put his foot down. Although the chalk prosthetic did its job, it still took him a while to get used to. It was not the same make as his old one, and it irritated his stump, which Sandra had tormented earlier.

But regardless, he still managed to run down the tunnel with his friends. They were making good progress, keeping up a steady pace. He had no idea how long they had been running, or how long it would take to get out. What he was aware of is that the more they ran, the more distance they could be putting between him and Sandra.

A part of him felt guilty. Sandra was his creation. Even though it wasn't his fault her purpose got screwed up, even though he never intended her to be this killing machine eating other zoners, he still felt responsible, and he was unable to shake off the guilt.

But he couldn't worry about that right now. They had to get out of here. They had to warn the other zoners about Sandra. If they didn't, then so many more were going to be in trouble. He'd never forgive himself if they failed.

The screams they had heard before were a testament to what their failure could mean. The screams still sent chills down his spine even in memory. And the silence that followed... That was even more terrifying. They knew what that silence meant. And it served as a motivator of why they should hurry up and get into Sandra's Alcove and warn the zoners.

"Don't...worry...guys..." Rudy panted heavily. "I...think we're...almost..there.."

Mint didn't attempt to answer, his throat getting dry from all the running. He looked out ahead. He thought he could see some kind of light, but he couldn't tell where it would lead them out to.

But seeing a goal out in front of them was enough to encourage them to push themselves even harder. The sooner they got there, the sooner they could figure out what it was, and hopefully, the sooner they could get out of here. Despite their pain, despite the fear of the unknown, they pressed themselves on, moving as quickly as they could.

Without warning, there was a loud screech echoing in the tunnels. They froze, their hearts skipping a beat. They looked at each other, each wondering what that sound was. It seemed...familiar and yet different. They couldn't quite place their finger on it.

Then came the footfalls. There was a clang to them, but it wasn't metal. It was more like something with sharp claws running towards them. And from how the footsteps sounded, it didn't seem like it was from a particularly large zoner. It took them seconds to realize who it was.

"No..it can't be..." Snap whispered in fear. "How did she catch up to us so fast...? She can't run that quickly!"

"Well she did!" Penny said. She held tightly onto Snap, pulling him against her. "We need to keep moving! Maybe we're almost out!"

"I..." Mint started to say. But he didn't get a chance to finish.

There was a flash of blue, and a snarl, and Mint felt something slam against him. He let out a grunt of pain as he was pushed against the wall. He felt something grabbing his throat. Sandra's foot, her talons pressing against her. He could see how close her eyes were, the crimson color filling his field of vision.

Mint stared at her in fear, gritting his teeth. His creation looked pissed off. The look in her eyes told him that she meant business. She seemed to affirm this when she tightened her grip on him. He let out a yelp of pain and tried to pry her toes off of him. But they were wrapped around there tightly like a vice. It was clear he was not going anywhere.

"I told you I never break a promise..." Sandra hissed. She looked over at Rudy and Penny, seeing them try to come forward. She growled, and her symbol began to glow. Mint watched in horror as his friends fell into the ground. He called out their names. "I will make sure none of you dare to lift a finger against me again..."

Mint looked at her, his eyes wide. "You...how could you think this was right?"

Sandra glared at him. "I tried to explain my point of view, but you brats refuse to listen." She raised her hand up in gesture. "You only think about yourselves. You never think about others, how they might feel."

"We don't...kill zoners..for..." Rudy started to say.

Sandra turned her head to him. "Shut up! It's not your turn!" She turned her attention back to Mint. "As for you, my dear creator... Like I said before, don't think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're the reason for my existence."

"I didn't create you like this." Mint said. "I created you to be..."

"A healer, I know. I still have that ability." Sandra said. She sighed and shook her head. "However, that didn't cut it out for me. I needed something better..." She spread her hand up into the air, as if to indicate what was all around her. "I found it here!"

"I'm not upset you decided to take up cooking." Mint said. "I'm angry that you are using this as an excuse to hurt zoners!"

Sandra blinked a few times, then shook her head. "Such naivity. I'm surprised my creator could be so stupid."

Mint growled at this. "You need to own up to what you've done! You..."

"Oh? And what about you?" Sandra tilted her head to one side. Upon seeing Mint's confused expression, she smirked. "Oh don't be modest now. I know about how you thought ChalkZone was a game, and you wrecked the place like it was just a backyard sport."

Mint felt his heart clench at this. He looked over at Rudy, Penny, and Snap. He recalled how, just a few years ago, he had called them his enemies, and they had fought one another. They had tried to warn him of what he was doing, but he refused to listen. He did eventually find out, but it nearly came with a high cost. He had almost killed Snap... That day still filled him with shame.

Mint shook his head, getting the thoughts out of his head. He knew why Sandra brought it up. She was trying to weaken him. She was trying to distract him so she could make her next move. Well she was going to have to try better than that.

"Yeah, I made mistakes. But at least I did something about them." Mint pointed a finger at Sandra, ignoring the claws that still grasped his neck. "You hide behind a promise like a coward! You use it as an excuse to hurt people! You are the one who..."

"Silence!" Sandra snapped at him. She lifted him up and tossed him at his friends. He screamed as he slammed into them, knocking them to the ground. "I do not like being angry.. Please do not make me angry." Sandar told them. "I do not really want to hurt you."

"Well if you didn't, then you wouldn't." Penny said, narrowing her eyes. "If you really cared about anyone...well you have a funny way of showing it."

Rudy nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You're just a bully who has..."

"Oh will you stop it with that?! You guys are the ones who wouldn't listen! I was doing Snap a favor! I was helping him become a better person by making him realize the wrong he committed!" Sandra took a step towards the children, holding out her hands in front of her to indicate them. "Yet you four refuse to to hear me! You act as if I haven't said anything!"

"You think that you can justify your actions?!" Snap cried. "You hurt me! You hurt many others! You...you were feeding the zoners..." His face got slightly green and he nearly threw up. Penny rubbed his back, comforting him.

Mint snarled, "You have some of the most twisted logic I've ever seen, Sandra! You're more delusional than I was, and that's saying something!"

Sandra hissed at this, her sharp teeth bared. "I am not delusional!"

"Says the one who thinks that a promise should always be fulfilled even in the event of hurting someone!" Penny shouted. Sandra glared over in her direction. "I'm not saying promises are bad, Sandra. I do understand how important they can be. But sometimes promises must be broken. They aren't some sacred thing. They are not to be held in the highest regard. If they have to be broken, then so be it."

Sandra snarled, a growl rumbling through her throat. Penny winced at this, but she remained where she was. "How dare you..."

"Sandra, this has to stop!" Snap said, pointing a rounded hand at the dragon zoner. "Stop trying to pretend you did nothing wrong! I would be less angry with you if you would just admit the truth!"

"But I am admitting the truth!" Sandra screeched, her eyes widening in anger. "If you would just listen and stop being so senile, I..."

"There are reasons why promises are broken, Sandra! They could be by mistake. They could be because something came up. Maybe someone could get hurt. Maybe they just couldn't get there." Rudy explained. "Why can't you understand that?"

Sandra glared at him. "And why can't you understand that you shouldn't make a promise you can't keep...?"

"Sandra, I've had promises broken on me before, and while sometimes they hurt, I don't get all in a huffy about it." Penny said. "I remember one when, when Rudy promised to help me with my homework, and he forgot, yeah I was hurt, but I later..."

There was a soft growl coming out of the dragon's throat. They all looked at her, wide-eyed, unable to turn away. Mint licked his lips nervously. He looked at his friends. They all looked worried as well. They wondered what Sandra was going to do. Mint had a sinking feeling that Penny had just made a huge mistake.

Sandra stared intently at Rudy. She lowered her head slightly, her pupils shrinking as she focused on nothing and no one except for him. The growling rumbling through her increased in volume, her tail swishing from side to side. Her talons gripped the ground, scraping along it, almost like nails on a chalkboard.

"You...you broke the sanctity of a promise...?" Sandra asked, her voice a deep growl.

Rudy looked left and right. "W-Well..I..."

"Filthy heathen.." Sandra's eyes bulged, practically glowing in feral anger. "I will see to it you never have a chance to rot the promise's purity!"

"No! Wait!" Penny realized what she had just done. "Don't! I didn't mean to...!"

But it was too late. Although Mint, Penny, and Snap tried to stop Sandra, although they tried to protect Rudy, they were all knocked back by her tail as she rushed forward. Her spikes slashed into them, making them scream and fall into the ground. Rudy tried to fight back, pulling out his magic chalk, but Sandra knocked him down with her tail as well, his body slamming against the ground.

To Mint's horror, Sandra lunged at Rudy as the boy tried to get up. Her mouth was split wide open, her teeth glinting in the light of the hallway. As she collide with Rudy, causing the air to get knocked out of him, she instantly closed her jaws around his neck and slammed him into the ground. She pinned him down effectively, her hands holding down his arms as her feet held his body down.

"Rudy! No!" Mint shouted.

"Stop it!" Penny cried.

"Release him, Sandra!" Snap begged. "Please!"

Rudy began to thrash on the ground as Sandra continued to bite into his throat. Blood dripped onto the ground. Rudy opened his mouth as if to scream, but only gurgled, wet cries could be heard. Blood leaked out of the corner of his mouth as he kicked his legs. He thrashed on the ground, jerking his body from side to side. He managed to free an arm and he started to push against Sandra. But the dragon would not let him go. Rudy looked into her red eyes, silently pleading with her. But those eyes held no sympathy for him, only a very clear intent.

Mint and the others rushed forward. They called out Rudy's name. They begged Sandra to stop. They moved as fast as they could. Their hearts pounded against their chests, fear washing over their bodies. Rudy's pained, wet whines twisted their hearts. They had to get to him before...

Then, suddenly, there was a resounding crack. It echoed in the walls of the hallway. It swept through their hearts, chilling them to the bone. They froze where they were, their minds going numb, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Rudy's body stiffened up at this, a quick convulsion rattling through his body, a strangled, wet cry escaping his throat. Then his arm fell to his side as his body went completely limp and still. Then all was silent.


	34. Cruel Aftermath

You poor, sweet, innocent thing! Dry your eyes and testify! And oh, you love to hate me, don't you, honey?

-Sweet Sacrifice, Evanescence

sss

Penny felt her heart freezing as she stared at the scene. Her mind was numb, unable to full process everything around her. She was only vaguely aware of Mint and Snap. She could barely tell she was still in the tunnels. Her world around her seemed to freeze into a block of ice and faded off into the distance. The only thing her mind could fully register was what she was staring at.

Rudy motionless on the ground. Sandra's teeth and jaws still pressed against his throat. Blood pooling on the ground. The low rumble of Sandra's growl, her pupils shrunk into dots.

Penny just stared at the scene in shock. All emotion, for a moment, was gone from her. No crying, no screaming. Just staring at the scene in disbelief. It...It was like some kind of bad dream. Everything about it seemed so surreal. She had trouble believing this was really happening. She never would have thought she would see something this...this horrible in her life. Could...could this really be happening? Or was she just dreaming?

She watched as Sandra slowly released her grip on Rudy, a bit of blood intermixed wit her saliva dripping down. The dragon zoner did not seem to pay attention to the damage the blood was doing. The small burns did not faze her, as if the anger blocked out all pain signals.

Penny watched as Rudy's head bobbed a little from when Sandra let go. It lopped to one side, bent at odd angle. She knew what had happened. There was no denying it.

Sandra...had broken Rudy's neck...

It was then that Penny's emotions began to reach the forefront of her mind. It was then that she started to become fully aware of the situation, and she couldn't stop the cold ice from spreading across his body. The cold, chilly emotions caused her to shiver, and as she stared at Rudy's unmoving form, her lower lip quivered. She knew she couldn't keep the torrent of emotions back, and she released it all in a single cry.

"No! Rudy!"

Penny attempted to rush over to Rudy. Her heart pounded against her chest, emotion sweeping through her body. She had to get over there. She had to check on Rudy. She had to see if he was still okay. He..he couldn't be dead. No..please don't let him be dead...

She felt something holding her back. Someone had gripped her arm. She grunted and jerked, trying to free herself. Frustrated and wondering who was stopping her, she looked over. She could see it was Mint. His expression was etched in deep shock. He looked at her and silently shook his head. Penny attempted to yank herself free, but now Snap, just as horrified, joined in.

"Let me know! I need to...!" Penny cried.

"Penny, hold still! We don't know what else Sandra might do!" Mint hissed worriedly at her. His eyes looked over at where Sandra was, his teeth gritted. "If we make any sudden movements, she might do worse!"

Snap kept an arm looped around Penny's, pulling it close to him. "Yeah, Buckette... We need a plan first."

Penny wanted to keep going. She wanted to free herself and rush to Rudy's side. She wanted to see if he was still alive, and take care of him if he was. He needed their help now.

But her friends were right. They couldn't make any foolish movements. Rudy might still be alive, but if he was, he was in a very precarious situation. With a broken neck, he wasn't going far, not even an inch. And Sandra was still right there. She had, by now, wiped most of the blood off, earning a few burn marks in the process. Sandra glared down at Rudy, her teeth bared menacingly. It looked like, at any point, she wanted to finish the job. It wouldn't be very hard for Sandra to kill Rudy long before they had any chance to save him.

They needed to come up with some kind of plan. They had to get Rudy away from her, regardless if he were dead or alive.

Dead... Penny's eyes watered at this. Mint and Snap looked at her sympathetically. They all looked over at where Rudy still lay still on the ground. The thought of Rudy being dead... It froze their hearts, numbing their minds in disbelief. Rudy was showing no signs of life, and depending on how bad the break was, Sandra could have...

No, he wasn't dead. They refused to believe it. He...He had to still be alive somehow. This was Rudy they were talking about. The Great Creator. He couldn't be dead. He wouldn't let someone like Sandra strike him down like this. Soon, he was going to get up and...

Sandra slowly turned her head towards them. Her eyes were narrowed still, and she had a feral look in her eyes. She wriggled her tail behind her like a snake, as if eager to strike them with it. She took a small step back from Rudy, her eyes solely on them. And for a few seconds, that's all she did. Stare at them as if studying the depths of their souls.

Then a dark smile tugged away at her muzzle. Part of her teeth were exposed in the vicious grin. When she spoke, her voice was still growly, but not ot the same extent as before. This did not make her voice sound any less scary. "Well...that's one more promise breaker who won't have another chance at ruining something so sacred..."

"Y-You..." Penny stammered, her mind swirling with thoughts. Sandra just looked at her, looking as if she felt she did nothing wrong. Penny narrowed her eyes. "You won't get away with this!"

"Oh do tell me." Sandra said, shaking her head. "I've heard this before. Such a cliche in shows, don't you think?"

Penny growled at this. "Step away from our friend!"

Sandra tilted her head a little, raising up an ear. "I'm not sure why you want him back now." She folded her arms against her chest as she looked down at Rudy's unmoving body. "He's dead."

Penny, Mint, and Snap gasped in horror at this. They recoiled back, staring at Sandra in shock and denial. No..no it couldn't be...

Penny shook her head slowly. "You're lying...! He's not dead! He.."

"I broke his neck, dear girl." Sandra said. She gave a wry smile. "I crushed his vertebrae. I could feel it break in my jaws. Oh it hurt doing that, believe me. But I think it was worth it, don't you think?" Sandra sneered down at Rudy's seemingly lifeless body. "This world won't have to worry about him breaking promises anymore..."

"No..." Snap said softly. "No it can't be..."

"Th-This has to be a trick!" Mint shook his head in denial. "You're just trying to get us off guard and..."

Sandra shook her head. "I don't know what you think I might gain from lying about this." She looked at each of the still standing children. Then she said, "Face it, you three. Rudy is dead now. He's never getting back up."

"B-But..." Penny tried to say."

Sandra looked at Penny in the eyes. "He's dead."

It felt as though the world around her came crashing in. Penny stood there, frozen, unable to move. She couldn't see the looks on her friends' faces. She couldn't turn her head. But she knew they must be just as horrified as she was. She could feel her body begin to shake as she took in this news. She wanted to believe Sandra was lying. She...she was just trying to mess with them.

But she couldn't shake off the feeling that perhaps, this time, she was telling the truth. She looked at Rudy's unconscious form, noting how there was no movement at all. She looked at his neck, still bloody from the bite marks Sandra gave him. His head lopped too far to be normal. In the back of her mind, she remembered the horrible crack that had bounced off the walls. C-Could it be that...? She tried to push it aside. She tried to think of any possibility that Rudy might still be alive.

Yet...her medical knowledge, though limited, did point her in one direction. There was very little chance Rudy had survived that. Sandra could be right. Rudy could be...gone... She sucked in a sharp, shaky breath at that. Her body swelled with emotion, and she was unable to hold back her tears. They began to drip down her face like a waterfall.

"Rudy..no..." She shook her head in disbelief. She sniffled, tears cascading down her cheeks. "Please..no..."

Mint and Snap, similar thoughts running through their heads, did what they could to comfort her. She could feel their hands on her shoulder. They whispered soft words to her. Despite not looking at them, she could tell they were just as shaken and broken as she was. She heard then sniffle and give soft cries.

Penny hardly paid attention to Sandra. She didn't see if the dragon still looked satisfied, if she looked annoyed, or anything. She could care less what Sandra was doing right now. At the moment, all she cared about was what happened to Rudy. Her breathing increased, becoming shaky. She let out a few soft cries as the realization of what happened weighed down upon her. Her hands trembled at her sides, her eyes glued to Rudy's still body on the ground. She shook her head slowly, not wanting to believe it. But the truth twisted around her heart, threatening to break it, and she knew she had no choice but to accept reality.

Rudy was most likely dead... And there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing... She could stop Sandra still. She could save ChalkZone. But she could not revive anyone from the dead. No one could.

This might be the last time she would ever see Rudy.

The reality of that sunk in. She and her friends...they had no choice but to accept it. As hard as it was, they could no longer deny it. They could not lie to themselves. Their hearts froze as the realization swept through their minds. It felt as though they were in some kind of bad, horrible dream.

As they began to cry,they all looked over at Sandra. The tears flowed freely as they looked from Sandra, to Rudy, and back and forth like that. As emotion ate away at their stomachs, they soon began to feel not just sorrow, but anger rise up inside of them. They stared at Sandra, seeing her blue body through their tears. They soon narrowed their eyes, seething.

Sandra... It was her fault this happened. She was the one who did this to Rudy. She was the one who...who..murdered him in cold blood. That monster... That evil demon... She wasn't going to get away with this. She was going to pay...big time.

Sandra took note of their expressions. She smirked at them, her arms folded against herself. She turned herself to the side, turning her neck so she could look over at the enraged children. "How immature... You three still don't accept the reality of the situation. I did not do anything wrong. I merely did the world a favor." She motioned a hand towards Rudy. "He would have broken your hearts if you let him live. A promise breaker is never to be trusted. If Rudy broke one promise to you.." She locked eyes with Penny. "What makes you think he wouldn't do it time and time again? You should be thanking me."

Penny, Mint, and Snap had to stifle themselves and use as much control as possible to keep from lunging at the evil dragon. How..how dare she say such things... How dare she still act as if she was justified... She just killed their best friend, and now she was trying to tell them that Rudy deserved it, that he brought it upon himself.

But they knew the truth. They knew that Sandra was just trying to find a way to justify her actions. Rudy never asked for this. It wasn't his fault his neck was broken. It was Sandra... She was the one who...

But before any of them could make a move, before any of them could say a word to Sandra on her cruelty, Penny noticed something. It was brief and quick, and she thought she was just seeing things. But she still froze, staring away from Sandra, trying to see if she had just imagined it.

Then she saw it. There it was again.

Slight movement.

Her eyes widened. She couldn't believe it. Could it be that...?

Penny whispered under her breath. A phrase that shocked everyone else in the room. "Rudy's..alive..."

"What?" Sandra narrowed her eyes and looked over at where Rudy was. "It can't be possible!"

Mint and Snap looked at each other, just as shocked as Sandra was. They looked at Penny, both silently asking her if she was telling the truth. Both of them had a somewhat uncertain look, not wanting to get their hopes up. Penny simply pointed at where Rudy was, unable to look away.

Rudy was still on the ground, his head still lopped to one side. But now it was becoming clear that he was not as motionless as they previously thought. His mouth was making a few twitches. And his eyelids were fluttering, and slowly they opened up. The sight of this was enough to confirm Penny's suspicions, causing her and her friends to fill with elation.

Rudy was still alive.

Penny smiled at this, tears of happiness flowing down her face. She looked over at her friends. They cried a little, tears of joy streaming down their faces as well. There was hope to save their friend after all.

The happiness was short lived when they heard a snarl. They looked over, noting Sandra's displeased expression. She glared down at Rudy, watching as his eyes opened and closed repeatedly, softly. She took a step towards them, but paused and looked over at them. They stared at each other for several mometns, silencing taking over the room.

"Don't you dare.." Mint said as he started to make his way over.

"You three will not interrupt me." Sandra declared.

Without warning, Sandra activated her powers on them, causing them all to scream and drop to the ground. She stared at them coldly, watching as they squirmed on the ground. They tried to get up, but the pain prevented them. They stared over at Sandra in horror. They continued to thrash on the ground, not wanting to give up. But they realized, in dread, there was little they could do in their current state.

Penny's mind became a little muddled as her body was wracked in pain. She could feel Sandra's powers tearing into her. The super healing being induced on her made her feel as though her blood vessels were being pulled apart one by one. She seethed, trying to get up. She tried to push herself onto her hands, back onto her feet. But her leg..oh gawd her leg.. It was like a million pieces of glass was being forced into her skin and flesh. Then they were twisted around and forced out, maximizing damage. Even just touching her leg froze her in agony. With tears of fear and pain staining her cheeks, she looked over at Sandra, watching helplessly.

Sandra smiled softly, looking satisfied that they weren't going to be able to stop her. She then turned her head slowly towards Rudy. Her frown slightly faded, her eyes widening. She looked at Rudy with great interest. Keeping her powers locked onto them, she went into a stalking posture, slowly making her way towards Rudy, her tail moving from side to side.

"Bucko! Get up!" Although Snap knew that Rudy couldn't do such a thing, the frantic zoner still pleaded for Rudy to get away. "Get on your feet! Run! Sandra's coming!"

Mint squirmed violently on the ground. He ended up on his back, his left leg pulled up towards himself. He looked at Rudy, seeing him upside down. "Rudy! Look out!"

But no matter how much they screamed, Rudy wasn't moving. His eyes were open, and it looked as if he was moving them around. But he hadn't tried to speak, and it was hard to tell if he was fully aware of what was happening.

Sandra growled softly as she crept closer, flattening her ears against her head. "I assure you, Rudy, I will not screw up this time..."

"Leave him alone!" Mint shouted.

Sandra barely turned her head, looking at Mint with one eye. "You are in no position to tell me what to do." She then turned her head back to Rudy. "Now...if you'll excuse me..."

No...No, this couldn't be happening, no... They couldn't allow this to happen. They couldn't allow Sandra to get away with this. They had to get her away from Rudy before she harmed him. They had to get up and fight. They had to push back the pain, get back on their feet, and get to Rudy before Sandra had a chance to finish him off.

But the pain...it gripped them so tightly, keeping it in its vile hold. The pain spread from their limbs, over taking their bodies. It was clear that Sandra was doing what she could to hold them back without killing them. Their bodies felt as though they were slowly being ripped apart. They could all feel something growing in their bodies, threatening to rip out of their skins. They twisted on the ground, shedding tears of pain, struggling to get up off the ground. But no matter what they tried, they were trapped on the ground, and all they could do was watch helplessly as Sandra approached Rudy.

Suddenly, there was a loud scream. Their hearts skipped a beat, wondering if Sandra had started to make her move on him. But even she looked a bit surprised, as if she didn't expect it. Before anyone could ask what had happened, there was another scream, and this time, they realized it wasn't just out of pain, but panic.

"It hurts! Oh gawd it hurts! Somebody help me! Please! I can't move!" Rudy cried out. His voice cracked, and it was clear he was sobbing from the agony. "I-I can't move anything! My neck! It hurts so bad! Please help me! Please!"

Penny and the others gasped in horror at this. They looked at Rudy, tears forming in their eyes. Rudy would be thrashing on the ground if he could. His voice gave away just how much pain he was in, how much he was panicking. Even though some of the wet gurgles of his speech as a result of the internal bleeding, Rudy was still coherent enough to be understood. And it broke their hearts as they listened to him scream in vain for their help.

"P-Please help me! Stop the pain!" Rudy screamed, wheezing painfully as he struggled to keep breathing. This made their hearts clench, solidifying even more the urgency of the situation.

Sandra stared at Rudy, blinking a few times. Then, smiling softly, she continued to approach him. She kept getting closer until she made sure that Rudy could see her. As soon as he did, Rudy made more pleas for help, and begged Sandra not to hurt him again. Sandra just stared at him silently, smiling, almost as if she was enjoying his pain.

"You know, I could kill you right now. End it all for you." Sandra said coolly. She began to slowly pace around Rudy, watching him carefully. The boy watched her the best he could. "It would be so easy, too. That would be the..merciful thing to do. I don't see you living much of a life if you survive this."

Penny felt her blood start to boil, but she kept her focus on Rudy. Her eyes were wide in terror, as were her friends'. Rudy was clearly terrified of Sandra, and he really wanted to get away. The pain in his neck was preventing him from moving it, which was keeping him alive. But it was also an omen; just the slightest move would be enough to end his life. And now Sandra was so close to him, she could do practically anything she wanted to him, and there was nothing they could do.

Rudy's wide, terror-filled eyes watched Sandra as she circled around him slowly. Penny could tell that he really wanted to move his head so that she was always in his field of vision. Whenever Sandra was in a certain position, he looked more panicked because he was unable to see if she was making a move against him.

Seeing Rudy so scared and frightened made Penny want to rush over to him and hold him. But she needed to get up first, and even if she did get past Sandra, she would have to hold off on hugging. She could accidentally hurt Rudy more. She needed to secure and immobolize him, and get him out of here.

Sandra continued her vulture-like circling around Rudy, causing tension and anxiety to rise up in the room. No one knew when she was going to make a move. She made a few gestures that got them worked up, but she would always stop herself before she did anything. It was as if she was deliberately screwing with them, or perhaps it was as simple as she didn't know what she was going to do with Rudy just yet.

Then, after a few more seconds of silence, she spoke.

"Well, Rudy... It is a shame it had to be like this. When I first met you, I never dreamed that I would be the one to strike you down." Sandra said. Rudy just looked at her fearfully, his breathing increasing. "But life is just full of surprises, isn't it? Often, things don't always go the way you expect them to. Life..is quite funny like that..."

Rudy swallowed nervously. He let out a whimper of pain. "Please...don't hurt me..."

Sandra chuckled bitterly at this. "Well trust me, Rudy, I didn't want to do this. I know you and your friends think I'm being harsh. But I'm just upholding the sacredness that is the promise. I can't let it be tainted. You understand, right?" Sandra paced around him, looking at him up and down. "Trust me, this hurts me as much as it hurts you."

"Get away from him, you monster!" Snap snarled at her. Sandra stared at Snap with a calm expression. "If you dare hurt him again, I'll...!"

"Oh Snap..I wish you would stop being so narrow-minded." Sandra said. Her expression softened up and she looked a little said. "If only you would just make the effort to see things through my eyes. Things would be so much better if..."

"Bite your tail!" Snap snarled.

Sandra widened her eyes at this, looking genuinely shocked. She and Snap stared at each other for several moments. Then, noticing that Snap was not changing his angered expression, Sandra lowered her ears and growled at him. "You are making this really difficult for me, Snap..."

Snap narrowed his eyes further. "I don't care..." Everyone, even Penny herself, was surprised at how cold that sounded. But considering what Sandra put him through, this did not come as a surprise.

Sandra moved her head back and growled. She glared at Snap for a second or two before she refocused her attention on Rudy. She appeared to shake off her anger towards Snap, and her previously mostly calm expression returned. She knelt down beside Rudy, right where he could see her, staring at her in fear. She reached over towards him, causing them to panic.

"No!" Penny screamed, thrashing on the ground. "Don't you dare touch him!"

"Get back!" Mint shouted. "Don't hurt him! Please!"

Snap jerked from side to side, fighting against the pain. "Get the fuck away from him, Sandra!"

Their cries and pleas and shouts did little to stop Sandra. She ignored them completely as she moved her hand closer to Rudy. The boy flinched and shut his eyes, letting out a series of fearful whimpers. Sandra's hand made contact, and she gently pressed it against his face.

Sandra began to gently caress Rudy's cheek, taking care not to hurt him. Rudy opened up his eye warily, looking up at her. Sandra smiled at him. Not viciously or aggressively, but more friendly than anything else. She then moved her hand up and stroked his hair. She spent a bit of time playing with his hair before pressing her thumb against his forehead gently.

"I do have a question, though." Sandra said. She took care to stroke a few stray hairs from his face, combing it behind his ear. "I have heard you are such a great artist. Would you be able to draw anything for me?" Her smile broadened as she put her face close to his. "I would love to see them..."

Rudy's eyes widened at this. "B-But I.."

"Oh that's right. You can't draw anything if you can't move." Sandra said, her eyes widening a little. But her smile never faded. "But that shouldn't be a problem for you, am I right? Come on..draw for me. Take the chalk and draw."

At this, something seemed to break inside Rudy. His eyes widened in disbelief before they closed lightly. He began to cry, his sobs echoing in the air. Not cries of pain, but of sorrow. Sandra simply watched in silence as Rudy broke down crying on the ground.

The sight of this horrified Penny, Mint, and Snap. Anger raged through their bodies. They couldn't believe how cruel and twisted Sandra was being. How..how dare she say such a thing.. She was the one who broke Rudy's neck, and to mock him about how he couldn't draw anymore... That was a low blow. Rudy loved art. He loved to draw. And for her to take that away from him and then have the gall to ask him to draw something... She was an even bigger monster than they had realized.

Penny pushed herself against the ground. She had enough of this. She had to do something to stop Sandra. She pushed herself onto her shaky legs. She fought against the horrific pain. She staggered forward a little, wincing in pain and seething in the process. When she managed to get up to her feet, she began to move towards Sandra.

sss

Snap's body quaked in emotion and in pain. He glared in Sandra's direction, unable to believe what he was hearing. Sandra was mocking Rudy, taunting him on his inability to draw. He felt his heart twist as he heard Rudy crying softly. This fueled his anger for Sandra even more, boiling hatred seeping in the pit of his stomach.

He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't just stay here on the ground. He could see Penny, and soon Mint, were struggling off the ground. They were both enraged, just like he was, with how Sandra was treating Rudy. Snap followed suit. He started to climb up to his feet. Sandra's hold on him seemed to weaken a ltitle, helping him fight back against the pain. But that didn't stop shockwaves from sweeping through him, making him freeze a few times as he tried to regain his balance.

He glared off in Sandra's direction. At the moment, she was still petting Rudy, like he was just a dog or cat she found, and speaking to him. She kept asking him questions about art in general, and kept urging him to draw. She even had the gall to act as if he was ignoring her when he wouldn't move. The sight of this brought Snap's blood to a boil.

He couldn't believe he ever thought of Sandra as a friend. He couldn't believe that he actually thought she was his friend. He thought that she was a nice, friendly zoner, someone he could count on and trust. She had never before seemed to display any behavior that would suggest otherwise.

But he had been wrong about her. Oh so very wrong.

Sandra was a twisted, vile fiend. She had lied about everything. She had been hiding her true self, and now they were finally witnessing it. She was cruel and absolutely heartless. She didn't care about anyone but herself, and everything she did was just for her own twisted satisfaction. She had pretended to be his friend all the while hurting him in the process. She had tricked almost everyone in ChalkZone City into thinking he was a murderer. Almost everyone was against him. And it was all because of her.

When Snap managed to stand up onto his feet, he nearly fell back down due to the horrific pain, especially in his left ankle. He seethed and fought against it. He couldn't let his pain slow him down, not while Rudy needed his help. He began to move as quickly as he could, picking up the pace as terror for what could happen to his friend and creator increased.

It took some time, but soon Snap was able to move forward at a considerable pace. He still limped, still winced in pain everytime he brought his left foot down. But his determination was enough that he could temporarily block out the pain as he rushed towards Sandra as fast as he could.

He continued to move forward, even managing to get ahead of Mint and Penny. He didn't pay attention to their expressions nor did he fully register if there was anything they had said. Instead, he kept his attention fully on Sandra. At the moment, she had no idea he was coming. In fact, she was so focused on Rudy that he could feel more and more of her powers leave him, making it steadily and progressively easier for him to move faster. He did his best to keep quiet, wanting to maintain the element of surprise.

As he moved closer, he looked over at Rudy. The terrified little boy was still staring at Sandra and hadn't yet noticed him. Snap watched him sadly, biting his lip. Poor Rudy... He made a silent promise that Sandra was not going to get away with this. He would see to that.

As Sandra gave another chuckle, Snap pushed himself harder and, wracked with pain and determination, he broke off into a limpy, staggering run.

sss

Sandra smiled down at Rudy. She stared into his eyes, seeing how terrified he was. She licked her lips slowly, for a moment forgetting that he wasn't a zoner. When she reminded herself, she was disappointed. Rudy's fear level was so high that he would have tasted quite divine if prepared right.

But she wasn't stupid. She knew that his meat would be toxic to any zoner that tried to consume it. She would have no use for his meat, unless she dried it out real good. She leaned her head back slightly, her eyes remaining locked onto his. As much as she would like to experiment with this idea, she decided it was best not to go that angle. She couldn't risk poisoning herself or her patients. So she shoved the idea aside, instead focusing on what she was going to do.

She was a bit surprised that Rudy had managed to survive her attack. She didn't think anyone could survive a broken neck. Well today she had been proven wrong. Rudy beat the odds, and he was now conscious, looking at her in fear. Though she could kill him now and get it done and over with, she decided to leave him alive for the time being. She wanted him to feel sorry for what he had done, and felt he deserved to suffer a little bit before he died.

The foolish child had dared to break a promise. The thought filled her with raging anger. It took a lot of willpower to prevent herself from ripping him apart right now. She reminded herself that Rudy was paying the price for what he did right now, and how he was unable to escape from her.

If there was one thing that got her blood going, it was anyone who dared to break a promise. She seethed at the thought of anyone breaking a promise. How could anyone do such a thing? Once a promise is made, it should never be broken. That was how you judge someone on their integrity. If they always uphold a promise, then they were trustworthy in her eyes. If they broke it, no matter the reason, then they were worthless. Because once someone breaks a promise, then what was going to stop them from doing it again? They needed to be destroyed before they could take advantage of anyone.

She had her reasons for believing this way. She flashed back to life in that..other place... Before she was kicked out, she had lived a pretty brief though happy life there. She didn't want to think too much on how she got kicked out, but she knew part of it was because of a broken promise on part of Jyker.

She narrowed her eyes at the memory of that traitor. She thought she could trust him. He made a promise..and he broke it deliberately. But if there was one good thing that came out of that, it was that it made her realize even more how sacred promises were, how they could easily be the difference between success and failure.

She grew less tolerant of promise breaks as a result. She would make sure none of them could hurt anyone. She didn't care who they were. A promise breaker deserved to die.

She glared at Rudy. That included him, too. She thought he was trustworthy, and she had liked him. To find out he was a promise breaker... Something had snapped inside of her. She hadn't expected to break his neck, but she felt no remorse for doing so. Rudy should have thought twice before breaking a promise with Penny. She would make sure that he paid for that.

A part of her did feel some hesitation. She bit her lip as she stared down at him. Though she felt no remorse, she did feel some level of regret. She had liked Rudy and had wanted to get to know him a little more. He seemed like he and his friends would have been fun to hang out with when this was all over. It was a shame that things went down this way. A part of her couldn't believe that she was actually going to do this. She told herself it was for the best, but there was still some uncertainty.

She narrowed her eyes. There was no more time for hesitation now. She had stalled long enough. She had to do what must be done. She moved her hand away from Rudy and pulled her tail towards him. The sharp tips glinted in the light.

"Hold still, Rudy." Sandra said. "I will make it quick."

"No please..." Rudy begged her.

She ignored him and brought her tail closer.

She froze when she heard feet pounding on the ground. Confused, she turned her head and looked behind her. She was shocked when she saw Snap heading in her direction. She only had time to widen her eyes before the zoner collided with her. She let out a grunt as she was sent skidding across the ground. They soon came to a stop, Snap sitting on top of her.

Sandra couldn't help but stare at him in shock. How had he managed to get over here that fast? How had he fought against the pain? How did she not notice him coming? It took her a second to realize that she had been so focused on Rudy, she wasn't able to keep as strong a hold on these three. And looking up, she could see Mint and Penny weren't far away, on their feet and ready to fight. She narrowed her eyes at this and she began to push back against Snap.

The two blue zoners wrestled with each other, rolling across the ground. They fought for dominance, fought for control, fought to pin the other down. She snarled at him, pleading with him to listen to reason. But Snap was not interested in listening. He was intent on stopping her. Sandra had no choice but to continue to fight back, hoping that she could pin him down and immobilize him before it was too late.

Sandra kept trying to knock Snap off of her. She pushed against him, tried to kick him, but Snap kept wriggling around, avoiding her tactics. She felt him grip her tightly, occassionally tugging on her ear or yanking on her arm as he struggled to get her onto the ground. She snarled at him and grabbed onto his cape, yanking him back. He gagged at this and delivered a small punch to her jaw, enough that her head was tossed to the side, making her let go.

This went on for a while. Sandra was not aware of what was happening around her. She didn't see if Mint and Penny went anywhere. Her eyes were solely on Snap. She managed to get him on the ground, gripping him his arms and pinning them against the surface. This didn't last long as Snap pulled his foot back and kicked her in the stomach. She moved back, allowing Snap to grab onto her neck and yank on her hard.

After several moments of wrestling, she realized that Mint and Penny had gone past her and Snap, and were currently trying to give aid to Rudy. She glared over in their direction. She needed to finish him off, but first, she had to get away from Snap. She continued to wrestle with him until, by some miracle, she managed to pull her foot back and strike him against the chest and stomach.

She got up to her feet as she watched him hit the ground. She realized she could have just used her powers on him. She shrugged it off and turned her attention to Rudy. At the moment, Penny and Mint were standing in front of him protectively, ready to fight.

Sandra smirked. This was going to be too easy. They weren't going to be able to defend their friend for very long. She began to make her way towards them, staring intently at them.

"You are..."

Sandra was stopped when she suddenly found herself yanked away. She let out a grunt as she hit against the wall, nearly gagging as she felt her cape being pulled to one side. She shook her head, regaining her senses, and surveyed her surroundings to see what had happened.

To her shock, there was a large knife cutting into her cape, preventing her from moving. She turned her head and she saw that it had been Snap who tossed the knife. The zoner was glaring over at her hatefully. There was pain in his eyes, but also determination. He gritted his teeth and looked ready to fight.

"Leave my friends alone..." Snap growled at her. He took a step forward. He winced and staggered a little, but managed to keep himself from falling down. "Don't you fucking dare go near them..."

Sandra simply stared at Snap. Although she did not show it, she was being torn up on the inside. She really didn't want to fight him. She didn't want to hurt him anymore. But if he continued to be unreasonable...she knew she would have no choice in the end. He was not listening to her. He was refusing to listen to reason. In the end, she knew what had to be done.

She had to make sure he didn't become a problem. She had to stop him, immobilize him somehow. She thought of using her powers, but decided against it. The moment she would, she knew Mint or Penny may come after her. She needed another way to stop him that would buy her some more time. And she knew exactly what that was going to be.

"You thought you could get away with this?" Snap's voice rang out. "You thought that you could get away with hurting my friends? Tormenting me? Terrorizing ChalkZone City?" Snap took a step forward. "Well that all ends now, Sandra! Right here! Right now!"

Sandra smiled at this. "I do so admire your bravery, Snap. It's just a shame that it is..misplaced." Snap snarled at this. Sandra raised her foot up, her talons wrapping around the knife. "So naive... You are so unaware of how the world works. I'm so shocked, Snap. I thought you would understand enough to know that I'm not doing anything that bad. Just keeping promises..." She tightened her grip on the knife, yanking it outward, a thunk sounding out as she did so. She held the knife up, looking at it, twisting it around as she examined it. "It is a shame that things turned out this way, Snap. I do hope that you will eventually come to realize the truth. After all, the truth will set you free..."

"You're insane!" Snap cried, pointing a rounded hand in her direction. "You are twisting logic and the world around you, filtering it through your own twisted eyes! Why can't you see that, Sandra? Why can't you see just how cruel you are being?"

"Because I know what I'm talking about. You are speaking from a flawed perspective, Snap." Sandra said, waving a dismissive hand. "You only see one point of view, a tainted one at that. You do not understand certain functions, and I get that. I'm willing to teach you, but only if you will listen." Seeing Snap snarl at her, Sandra said, "I see you are stubborn, more willing to cling to your own misguided ways than to listen to me. Okay, fine then."

Tightening her grip on the knife, making a quick, accurate aim and calculation, she thrust it towards Snap. The zoner let out a scream and jumped out of the way. The knife sailed past him, hitting against the wall.

Sandra hissed at this. "Why didn't you just hold still? I wasn't trying to kill you!"

"Oh yeah?" Snap barked at her. "You could have fooled me!"

Sandra narrowed her eyes at Snap. She wasn't sure why he had to be so stubborn. But she couldn't just stand there. She had to secure him so she could take care of the other humans. While they were busy tending to Rudy, she took this chance to charge towards Snap. The zoner let out a surprised cry, but took a fighting stance. Sandra tightened the muscles in her leg and lunged for him...

...only to be knocked back by a sudden force. She slammed into the ground heavily, letting out a few cries of pain. She struggled up to her feet, brushing herself off. She looked over to see who had stopped her. She widened her eyes.

It was Mosaic...

The crocodile zoner placed herself between hera nd Snap, her tail wriggling in agitation, her teeth flashing at her. The crocodile let out a loud hiss and mock charged her, snapping her jaws. Sandra jumped back, then adopted a defensive stance.

"You again..." Sandra hissed. "When will you learn...?" Mosaic let out a loud growl in response. Even though the crocodile didn't speak, Sandra could have sworn the zoner had just cursed at her. This made her flatten her ears, curling her lips back into a snarl. "I've had enough of you. Time to..."

"Get away from them!" Mint shouted.

Sandra's eyes widened as she felt something tugging on her ears, a sudden weight on her back. She jerked around, arching her back, trying to buck the kid off of her. Mint wrapped his arms around her throught and pushed against it tightly, nearly choking her.

She grabbed onto her arms and tugged on them. She jerked herself from left to right. She glared up at her creator, giving him a silent warning to let go. But he did not listen. He just tightened his grip on her, his legs locking around her body, providing more stability for him.

"Let go of me!" Sandra demanded.

But the boy did not listen. The two of them continued to rush around the hallway, each trying to gain dominance over the other. Sandra felt her blood reach its boiling point, gritting her teeth in frustration.

And then she felt the boy's teeth go into her ear. Her eyes bulged and she let out a loud scream.

sss

Mint bit down as hard as he could. He could feel his teeth sink into the dragon's ear, blood seeping from it. He did not relent. Even as her struggles increased, even as she screamed, she did not let go. His mission was to keep her as preoccupied as possible so Penny could have time to think of a way to help Rudy and get him out of here. He also wanted to make sure that she did not go after Snap, or have a chance to kill Rudy. He wouldn't allow it.

He looked over at Penny. He gave a faint smile as he saw that she was doing what she could to help Rudy. He then looked over at Snap and Mosaic. The crocodile zoner was positioned in front of Snap protectively. Mint was surprised she was here, but was glad. Snap looked surprised by Mint's interference and he looked like he wanted to rush forward and help.

But Mint shook his head, enough for Snap to see it. He couldn't let Snap get involved. He didn't know what Sandra planned to do with him, but he wasn't going to let her get that chance. He made a quick gesture with his head, encouraging Snap to go to where Penny and Rudy were.

Rudy was the one who needed the most help right now. The more people helping him, the better. Mint felt his stomach twist with emotion. He hoped Rudy would be okay. He could still hear that resounding crack in his mind, and knowing that Rudy could very easily die with the slightest movement.. He could feel his hatred towards Sandra increase as he recalled that she was the one who broke his neck.

But with Penny there, he was certain he was going to make it. He recalled that it was Penny who had saved his life when his leg was cut off. He owed his very survival to her, and Rudy's, efforts. So long as Penny was over there, assessing the damage and reacting accordingly, he was confident that Rudy was going to be fine. Still a long road ahead, but he was certain that Rudy was going to be okay. He..he just had to be...

Suddenly, Sandra gave a sharp jerk, loosening him up enough for her to grab him. She pulled on him hard, letting out a yelp of pain as the force caused him to tear part of her ear off, his teeth still sunk into the skin. Warm blood covered a part of his face as Sandra threw him against the ground, part of his back pressed against the wall.

Mint let out a soft groan. He sat himself up with one hand, his other pressing against his face and rubbing it gently. He looked over and he let out a scream as Sandra dashed towards him quickly, her mouth agape.

"N-No! Please!" Mint wailed, terror striking his hear.

Penny and Snap looked over, their eyes bulging in horror.

"Mint! Run! Get away!" Penny cried in fear.

"Get up and run!" Snap called out to him.

But it was too late for Mint to do anything. Before Mint had a chance to get up, Sandra slammed against him. He let out a grunt of pain as the weight hit against him with near full force, the wind knocking out of him. As he took in a few breaths to try to refill his lungs, he felt Sandra grab onto his mouth.

"I promise I will make sure you will never be able to use these against me again." Sandra snarled.

Before Mint could ask her what she was talking about, she began to apply pressure. She started to push his lower jaw down, her other hand gripping his head for leverage. Mint's eyes bulged as pain began to creep along his jaws, where the hing connected it to his skull. He began to thrush on the ground, kicking, pushing against Sandra.

Then without warning, Sandra pushed down as hard as she could, ignoring the pain in her fingers as she pushed his jaw down beyond its limitations. There was a sickening crack, followed by a loud, bloodcurdling scream which Mint realized, to his horror, was his own. He started to taste salty blood in his mouth as he began to cry and sob from the pain.

"Mint!" Penny and Snap cried in unison, their voices dripping with terror and dread.

Mint looked up at Sandra, giving her an expression that asked her why she did this. She smiled softly at him, but then narrowed her eyes. She then lowered her hand towards him. The pain freezing him where he was, all Mint could do was watch, his eyes widening.


	35. Emergency Fuel

On the ground, I lay motionless, in pain. I can see my life flashing before my eyes.

-Time Of Dying, Three Days Grace

sss

Mint remained frozen on the ground. His life seemed to flash before his eyes as he watched Sandra barrel down towards him. He wanted to cry and plead with her not to do it, but he knew it wouldn't work. And he wouldn't be able to speak that well, as the pain in his jaws reminded him. There was a radiation of pain that stretched from where the jaws connected and down along the bottom rim of it. He could still feel some of the blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth.

He knew it was dislocated. There was no doubt about that. He could feel his jaw barely hanging there by a thread. About the only thing keeping it from falling down was his skin and flesh, which was still largely in tact. It hurt him so much... Just the slightest touch was enough to send him jerking in agony.

It terrified him how Sandra had been able to dislocate his jaw like that. She wasn't terribly larger and she didn't look like she would be that strong. He had been proven wrong on that point, and now here he was, with a dislocated jaw, in pain, and about to be attacked again. His friends wouldn't be able to help him. They wouldn't reach him in time.

Seeing Sandra like this was horrifying. He had never drawn her with the intent of her being violent like this. Just what had his cousin done to her to make her like this? What was his intentions with her? That feral look, those exposed sharp teeth... They would forever be etched into his retina.

Although only a couple of seconds passed, it felt like several minutes to Mint. The world around him seemed to go in slow motion. He was aware of some shouting, realizing it was Penny and Snap. He couldn't make out what they were saying. He could hear Sandra's snarling, and she seemed to move slowly as she came towards him. But he couldn't get himself to jump out of the way. The gap was closing too fast, and he knew he wouldn't be able to get away.

Sandra closed the gap between them. With her jaws opened up wide, her pupils shrunk, she jumped towards him. He watched in horror as she brought her claws forward, the sharp tips ready to tear into him. Mint let out a gurgled cry and turned away, bringing his hands up in futile defense. He waited for the blow.

Suddenly there was a flash of color, blurry and fuzzy. It zipped in front of his field of vision, going so fast he couldn't tell what it was. Then he heard a pained screech from Sandra, and then a loud thud. The air was soon filled with low growls and hisses. He heard a few bangs against the ground, and he realized quickly what it was. Struggling... There was a fight going on. Mint forced himself to open up his eyes and see what was going on.

Ripclaw...

It was Ripclaw...

He didn't know how she did it. He didn't know where she came from, how she got here... All he knew was that she was here. She had Sandra pinned on the ground with her large foot and was snarling at her. Sandra squirmed, struggling to get away from her. Ripclaw merely pressed her foot down harder to hold her in place.

Mint took in a few shaky breaths as he realized how close he had come to being killed. Terror swept through his heart, making him shake and tremble. He stared at Ripclaw, watching as she kept the evil dragon on the ground. Mint reached out towards her, and then pulled his hand back. He had never felt more grateful for Ripclaw than he did now. She had just saved his life...

"Mint! Are you okay?!" Penny cried.

Mint looked over at her. He noticed how she and Snap recoiled. It must be due to his loose jaw. He would have answered them if he could. He tried to move his jaw slightly, only to be wracked in pain.

But regardless of how he felt, he knew that the situation with Rudy was much more dire. He made a few quick gestures with his hand, motioning towards Rudy. He pointed quickly, letting out a few muffled cries and slurred words, trying to get them to understand that he wanted them to treat Rudy first. They seemed to understand, and they turned their attention back to Rudy.

Mint stared down at Rudy, his expression softening up. Though he was in a lot of pain, he knew Rudy was suffering more. He didn't suffer just a dislocation like he had; his neck had been crushed, or so that's what Sandra said. He had no doubt she broken something, but he didn't know if the damage was as bad as she said. He hoped it wasn't. He hoped that it was a clean break so it would be easier for the doctors to mend it. Rudy needed to get to the hospital, and fast.

"Let go of me, you monster!" Sandra snarled. Mint looked over, watching her continue her struggling against Ripclaw. "You horrid beast! Get off! Now!" Sandra kicked her legs out, trying to hit against Ripclaw. Her tail wriggled wildly, hitting the ground a few times out of frustration. "If you don't let go, I will promise I will make you regret it!"

Mint's eyes widened in horror at this. Did Sandra just...? Oh no.. Ripclaw... What if Sandra...? Mint wanted to warn Ripclaw. He wanted to tell her to get away. But she wouldn't be able to understand anything he tried to say, and if Sandra caught him trying to warn her, she would probably...

Mint watched in terror as Ripclaw fought with Sandra. The blue dragon landed a few pounches against Ripclaw, the fists slamming against the side of her face. Ripclaw's head moved to the side in response, but this did little to deter the utahraptor. She snarled and snapped her jaws, drool dripping down. Her pupils were narrowed into slits, and she applied more pressure. Sandra continued to thrash on the ground, trying to get away. But the more she struggled, the more firmly Ripclaw held her down.

Then her struggles increased. Sandra opened her mouth wide, exposing her sharp teeth. She kicked against Ripclaw, managing to slash into her skin. Blood dripped onto her claws and stained some of Ripclaw's feathers. But still Ripclaw did not back down, keeping Sandra immobilized on the ground. Even when Sandra managed to land a few blows with her wickedly spiked tail, long cuts appearing on her side, that still wasn't enough.

Suddenly, Sandra, out of desperation, bit down on Ripclaw's foot. She pulled her head back and let out a loud, pained screech. This caused her to get off of Sandra. To Mint's horror, Sandra crouched down and lunged at her, grabbing into her thick neck and hung on. Her claws dug into the flesh as she bit down on the back of her neck. Ripclaw jerked from side to side, trying to buck Sandra off of her.

Around in circles in the hallway they went. Ripclaw let out a series of screeches as she tried to knock Sandra loose. She turned her head and tried to bit her. Her teeth narrowly missed her each time. Ripclaw turned her head away, splitting her jaws wide open as she roared. She slammed herself against the wall, clearly hoping it would be enough. But Sandra did not let go, tightening her grip on the dinosaur as she bit down harder.

Ripclaw reared back, flailing her arms wildly as she tried so desperately to get the dragon off. Mint could see her eyes, wide in pain and agony. He could see how she was constantly hitting the wall, biting, twirling around, and yet none of that worked.

And even after all that, Sandra still had a hold of her. She was still clinging to her. She still had her sharp teeth in her neck. She was still applying pressure, showing no signs of letting go anytime soon...

Mint watched this, dread swelling up in his chest. Memories of Sandra breaking Rudy's neck appeared in his head, and as he watched Sandra biting down on Ripclaw's neck, he realized in a second that she was trying to do the same thing to her.

No...she couldn't do that.. He wouldn't let her. He had to do something to stop her. Despite his pain and fear, despite knowing what Sandra was capable of doing, Mint began to make his way over. He didn't know how he was going to stop her, but he knew that he had to try.

Suddenly, Mint caught a glimpse of something black and white in front of him. He felt a rush of air as something ran past him. In seconds, it collided with Sandra, and he heard the echoing sound of a crunch as Sandra sprawled onto the ground. Ripclaw staggered to the side. Despite the blood dripping down and being a little off balance, she appeared to be okay.

Sandra laid on the ground for a few seconds. Her body have a few quick shivers. She clutched her side, and Mint realized that a rib or two must have been broken. Her head lifted up, her ears flopping down and then raising up. Her eyes, narrowed in anger, looked over at her attacker.

Mint was shocked to see that it was Dr. Gelcro. He didn't appear to be in the greatest of shape. He was bloodied and there was a pained look in his eye. It was hard to tell just how much damage was done to him, but it was clear that he was hurt worse than it had appeared at a glance.

Before Sandra could say anything and make her move, Mosaic left his friends' side and bolted towards her. The crocodile lunged at her, knocking her into the ground. The two hissed and snarled at each other as they began to wrestle on the ground.

Mint watched the sight, unable to take in what just happened. It all occurred so quickly. First, Sandra tried to jump at him, then Ripclaw came in, then those two struggled, then Dr. Gelcro stepped in, and now Mosaic was wrestling with Sandra. It was all so fast and so sudden.

He didn't have long to think about this when he noticed Dr. Gelcro limping towards him. Though Mint did feel bad that he was injured, he was not all that happy to see him. He felt his stomach burn as he remembered the trouble that this doctor had caused them. Just what was he doing here? What did he have planned?

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes softly. "Enemy Crea..." The dog's expression softened up and he bit his lip. He cleared his throat and spoke again. "I-I mean..Mint..." He took a step forward, his head lowered slightly. "Are you all right?"

Mint was confused by this change of attitude. What caused Dr. Gelcro to soften up? He attempted to open his mouth, wanting to ask him a few questions, but he had to pause, feeling a horrific pain in his jaw. Unable to speak, he slowly shook his head.

"Hmm...I see Sandra dislocated your jaw. That's not good." Dr. Gelcro walked over. He reached out and gently put his hands on Mint's head. He put his head close to his, his red eyes inspecting the damage. "You have quite a bit of damage there. She tore some of the skin. Here..let me help you."

The husky grabbed his jaw, sending shockwaves of pain through him. Mint jerked away, taking a step back. He looked at Dr. Gelcro, his eyes wide, silently asking him what he thought he was doing.

Dr. Gelcro let out a sigh. "Look, I need to reduce your jaw. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just hold still." He reached out towards Mint again. "The sooner we get this done, the better. We don't have much time. I don't know how long Ripclaw and Mosaic can keep Sandra busy."

At this, Mint looked over at the scene. Ripclaw, who had recovered, was aiding Mosaic in keeping Sandra at bay. The dragon zoner was trying to break through, but Mosaic and Ripclaw kept knocking her back. They prevented her from going anywhere, jumping in front of her and snapping their jaws at her. Sandra seemed too focused on getting away, or getting at them, to think of using her powers. For the time, the two animals had the upperhand.

Although he didn't want to, Mint knew he had no choice but to trust the doctor. He gulped the best he could and then held still. Dr. Gelcro grabbed his shoulder and pushed him against the wall for leverage. Then, with his body and shoulder keeping Mint pinned, the husky grabbed onto his jaw and then his forehead for brace. Mint did his best to ignore the pain as the clawed fingers pressed against his jaw, gripping it tightly.

"Hold still and this won't hurt as much."

Mint's heart skipped a beat at that. Before he had time to do anything or try to make a response, Dr. Gelcro began to apply pressure. Mint's eyes bulged, tears flowing down his cheeks, and he couldn't help but let out a loud scream.

sss

Snap jerked at the scream, his body stiffening. Fearing the worst, he swiveled his head over. But when he saw that it was only Dr. Gelcro, he relaxed a little. Dr. Gelcro must be relocating Mint's jaw. Snap looked at Mint sympathetically as he unwillingly struggled. Snap remembered what it felt like when Dr. Gelcro did the same thing for him, with his ankle. It was an unbearable pain.

He could see that Sandra was being preoccupied. The blue dragon was trying to contend with Ripclaw and Mosaic. Snap looked at this, a small smile spreading across his face. Sandra was currently being outmatched, with Mosaic and Ripclaw blocking every move. No matter how hard she tried, it was claw that Sandra was not going to get her way this time. So long as Ripclaw and Mosaic kept this up, distracting her from using her powers, she could be eventually subdued.

Snap turned his attention back to Rudy. He bit his lip, tears forming in his eyes as he saw just how much pain his best friend was in. Rudy's eyes were wide, so pain-filled, so overflowing with terror... Snap couldn't believe this happened to him. What...what had his friend done to deserve this...?

But though he was furious with Sandra, he couldn't focus on that right now. It was more important to get Rudy to safety. Although it was hard, he ignored Sandra's screeches in the background as he moved closer to his friend, watching him warily. Snap wanted to hug him, wrap his arms around him and tell him it was going to be okay. But the slightest touch could kill Rudy. They had to be incredibly careful and gentle with him.

"B-Bucko..." Snap whimpered softly, his lower lip quivering. "I'm so sorry this happened..."

Rudy moved his pupils so he was looking up at Snap. "I-It's okay.. N-Not your f-f-fault..."

Snap smiled shakingly at this. It didn't surprise him that Rudy didn't blame him for what happened. It was just like him to not put blame on his friends for unfortunate events. Snap wanted to reach over and touch Rudy, but refrained, worried he might cause more damage.

"Shhh... Please try not to talk, Rudy." Penny whispered to him. She reached forward and traced two fingers along his hair, careful not to apply too much pressure. "It's going to be okay. I promise..."

It was easy to tell, from the look in Penny's eyes, she was uncertain. And Rudy's fear was as plain as day, easy for anyone to notice. Snap felt his heart twist into knots. It felt as though the world around him was collapsing. The realization that this might be the last time he'll see his friend alive... Snap caught a sob in his throat. He reached up and wiped away his tears.

The situation was critical. They all knew that. Mint needed help, too. Even after his jaw was reset, he was still going to need to see a doctor. But even Mint knew that Rudy was in the most dire need of help. They needed to get out of here and fast. The direness of the situation hung strongly in the air, and it took only the look of Rudy's eyes to remind them all that this was an emergency.

Snap moved a little closer to Rudy, as close as he could get without touching him. He leaned forward, staring into his eyes. He and Rudy locked eyes with each other for a few seconds. Snap sucked on his lip. Rudy just had to be okay... He just had to. This couldn't be his final hour... He was going to survive.

Snap gave the best, reassuring smile that he could. "Everything is going to be fine, Rudy. You'll see..."

Snap could feel his hear start to break when Rudy gave a weak, trembling smile at him. The boy was fighting back tears of agony, and yet he still had the strength and willpower to smile at him regardless. Snap's smile broadened a little. He could feel the urgency inside of him rise. He intended on keeping his word.

"Snap, I am going to need your help."

Snap looked over at Penny. "What do you want me to do?"

Penny held up a piece of magic chalk. Snap realized that it must have dropped from Sandra, just like the other piece had, during the struggle. "My mom told me a thing or two about broken necks. We need to secure Rudy to something flat and stiff and immobilize him so he can't move." She turned to Snap. "I am going to need your help in securing him. I can't do this on my own."

Snap narrowed his eyes in determination. "Okay...let's get started."

sss

Rudy couldn't stop crying. No matter how hard he tried to hold back his tears, they just kept flowing down his cheeks. He shut his eyes, trying his best to block out the pain. But it was no use. It radiated along his neck, traveled up his head, and swam around his face like overflowing water. And the worst part: there was nothing he could do to get away.

Rudy couldn't believe that this had happened to him. When they had come to confront Sandra, Rudy never dreamed that it would end up this way. His heart had practically frozen in his chest when he saw Sandra lunging towards him. He had panicked when he felt her jaws in his throat. He had a feeling what was going to happen. He saw it coming. But he could do nothing to protect himself.

When his neck had been broken, the crack reverberated in his head, sounding like a gunshot had been let loose. The intense pain began immediately, shocking him into unconsciousness for several minutes. And when he woke up, almost right away, he was brought back into the world of pain.

Rudy wanted to get away. He wanted to get up and run, to get help. But he couldn't do that. A horrifying reality became known to him not long after he woke up. The pain was incredibly intense and burning in his neck, but it soon filtered out into nothingness. It was so abrupt that it send a chill through the back of his neck. He knew what this had meant.

He was paralyzed.

Rudy opened his mouth a little wider, struggling to breathe. He could barely, if at all, move his ribcage up and down. His ability to take in a breath of air had been compromised. His heart beat against his chest quickly, threatening to break out. He tried not to, but he couldn't stop himself from experiencing a panic attack, and that's when he had shouted for help.

This feeling...it was so horrible. It chilled him to the bone as he felt the pain suddenly empty out into nothingness. That wasn't the only thing. It wasn't just pain he couldn't feel. He could feel nothing. No sensation at all. It felt like his head had been ripped off and placed on a large, limp doll that they found laying around. This was an uncomfortable, terrifying feeling. To not be able to feel his body, to not be able to move... He had never felt so scared and frightened in his life.

He was so vulnerable... If Sandra managed to get away from his allies and friends, if she managed to get to him, it would be so easy for her to kill him. There was nothing he could do to defend himself.

He coughed painfully a few times, reminding him of the blood that was caking his throat, making it even harder to breathe. He could see how worried Penny and Snap looked. But he knew there was little they could do for him. They were going to do the best they could, but one wrong move, one slight movement too far, and it was all over. The realization that he could die today make his heart nearly stop beating.

Rudy could practically feel his life flashing before his eyes. He could see images in front of him, showing him his life as it had happened. Birth, preschool, childhood, birthdays, vacations, meeting Sophie, meeting Penny, it all moved in front of his eyes, a miniature movie in his head. He couldn't stop it, no matter how hard he tried. When it ended at what happened with Sandra, breaking his neck, him dropping to the ground, he couldn't help but let out a choked cry.

He knew that the chances of him recovering from this were slim. And it wasn't just his body that was affected. His mind had suffered a massive blow as well. Sandra had struck him where it hurt the most.

He loved art. He loved to draw, to paint, to scribble, to sketch. It was his favorite past time. He loved it. He couldn't think of a day when he wouldn't create at least one piece of art. And to think that was all over now... And how Sandra had blatantly taunted him about it... He couldn't believe she could be so cruel...

And the zoners...how was he going to help them? He was supposed to be ChalkZone's protector. How could he protect anyone when he couldn't move? He couldn't keep anyone safe. And his parents... How were they going to react...? Oh gawd... They were going to be so devastated. And Tilly and Sophie, and everyone...

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt something touch him lightly. He let out a cry, thinking that it was Sandra. His heart tightened up, and he started to plead.

"No! Please don't! I..."

"Shhh... It's okay, Rudy. It's just me." Penny's voice came.

"Yeah, Bucko." Now it was Snap's turn. "We're here..."

Rudy's eyes widened a little. "G-Guys...? Is that you...?"

He could feel a couple of fingers move through his hair. "Yes, Rudy. It's us. You're safe."

Rudy took in a few breaths, as deep as he could manage. The thudding in his chest slowed down as he realized that he was not in any danger. His friends' voices sounded so sweet and gentle, a welcoming contrast to the horrific pain radiating in his neck. Despite his pain, he managed to feel a tinge of happiness. His friends were here. They'd keep him safe.

But the calmness didn't last long. He felt the heartbeating in his chest increase as the reality of the situation weighed down on him. He breathed in and out as quickly as he could. He tried so hard to move. He struggled to move a toe, a finger, anything. But nothing moved. And the longer he couldn't move, the more panicked he became.

"Please help me! I-I can't move!" Rudy cried out.

Penny continued to stroke his hair gently. "Sh sh sh... Please calm down, Rudy. Try not to panic..."

"We'll get you out of here. We promise." Snap said, his voice shaky, cracked with emotion. "You'll be fine. You'll see..."

Rudy tried his best to calm down. He forced his breathing to slow down, taking in steady breaths. He found it difficult, however. The panic clung to his chest. Even though he felt no pain, he could feel pressure in his chest. And it was uncomfortable. He wanted to get away. He wanted to get up and run. The realization that he wouldn't be able to do this left him feeling so scared and vulnerable.

But...but his friends were here... They were trying to help him... They would keep him safe and secure. Sandra would not be able to get at him again. They would stop her. Just as he had always protected his friends, they would do the same for him.

Slowly, he began to calm down. His heart race decreased, going back to normal. He felt himself relaxing. Still in pain, still shedding tears, but he managed to put himself into a tranquil state of mind. His friends smiled at this, glad that he was no longer panicking.

Penny reached over towards him. "Rudy, can you feel this?"

Rudy couldn't tell what Penny did. He guessed that she was touching some part of him. Perhaps his arm.

"N-No..." He whimpered.

Penny gestured to Snap. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Snap moving towards his legs. He could barely see much, but he could hear Snap kneeling down.

"How about that?" Penny asked.

Rudy guessed that Snap was touching his foot or leg. Just like before, he could feel nothing. It was as though this body was not his.

"I can't feel anything." Rudy said after a few moments of silence. "I can't feel anything below my neck. The pain...it's just syphoned out so suddenly. I-It's scaring me..." Rudy felt a tear stroll down his face.

Penny looked at him sympathetically, caressing his cheek. "I know, Rudy..I know." She gently stroked his hair. Her soothing touch helped Rudy relax more, and he let out a soft sigh of contentment. "Listen, Rudy... Snap and I are going to try to get you out of here. But we are going to need to get you situated. We'll be moving you around. We will be as gentle as we can."

"Yeah... We'll go nice and slow with you." Snap assured him.

"We need you to try not to panic. Just try to relax. We will be very careful with your neck. We'll warn you ahead of time when we are about to move your head." Penny said. She paused, then she said, "We'll tell you everything that we are going to do just before we do it. Will that help?"

Rudy would have nodded his head if he could. "Yes..."

He was still scared and frightened. But he would rather know what was coming, than it be totally unexpected. He moved his pupils as much as he can so he could see his frineds, giving them a look that told them how much he trusted them. Although he was uncertain, he had the utmost confidence in his friends. And when they smiled down at him, he returned it.

Penny raised up her magic chalk. Rudy could see it glint in the corner of his eye. He saw her begin to draw. He couldn't tell what it was at first. It took him a few seconds to realize it was a rescue litter. It was placed to his side, where his head was turned so he could see it. Then he heard Penny begin to explain the procedure.

"We are going to immobilize your neck first. I am going to draw a cervical collor to put on you. We will be as gentle as we can."

Before he knew it, Penny drew the cervical collar. She showed it to him so he knew what was coming. Then he could feel hands on his head, gripping him firmly, yet gently. He could see Penny position herself so she could provide pressure against his chest to keep him still.

"Snap will carefully turn your head and secure it so we can apply the cervical collar."

Rudy winced and whimpered in pain as Snap carefully turned his head slowly, being as gentle as he could. Rudy felt his heart race against his chest. He knew that, in letting him do this, he was putting a lot of trust and hope in Snap. His entire life was currently in his gloved hands. Luckily it didn't take Snap too long to move the neck were it needed to be, and then he secured his head in place.

Penny lifted up the cervical collar. "I am going to put this on you now. I'll be as gentle as I can."

Rudy closed his eyes and he felt the pressure and cool surface of the collar being placed against him. He whimpered in pain, but did his best to remain calm. Rudy closed his eyes as Penny applied the cervical collar, Snap holding his head still. He took in a deep breath and sighed.

sss

"There...this should hold you."

Dr. Gelcro just got finished tying a thick piece of cloth around Mint's jaws. He made sure it was good and tight. He needed to be sure that it was going to hold his jaws in place. He had a pretty nasty dislocation, and it would be easy for him to pop his jaw loose again if he wasn't careful.

Hopefully this tight cloth around him would help prevent that from becoming an issue. He took a step back and examined it, making sure it was good and secure. He tugged at it gently to make sure it wasn't loose and that Mint would not be able to open his mouth far if he tried to attempt it. He would do more for him, but Mint being human limited what he was able to do. Mint would have to seek out aid in the Real World for more in depth treatment.

Mint muffled a little bit as he reached up and touched the cloth. He moved his hands around, testing the cloth and its thickness, ensuring that it was good and tight. He then looked over at the doctor, giving an expression that Dr. Gelcro could best describe as gratefulness.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Gelcro asked. He knew it was a stupid question. He already knew the answer. But he had to be sure.

Mint looked at him, blinking his eyes a few times. Then he gave another muffle, a positive-sounding one, and then nodded his head a few times. Dr. Gelcro interpreted that as he was fine. He gave a small smile at this.

"That's good." Dr. Gelcro said. He pointed at the cloth and said, "You should keep that on until you get into the Real World. There might be more damage than I thought, but there's little I can do for you here."

At this, Mint looked uncertain. At first, the doctor didn't know why. Surely Mint must know the urgency of the situation. But it soon became apparent why he was like that.

It was his friends. He was worried about his friends. Dr. Gelcro was fully aware of the whimperings from Rudy, the concerned shouts from Rudy and Penny. His head echoed with the snarls and growls from Sandra, who was fighting against Mosaic and Ripclaw, who were keeping her at bay. It was chaotic here, and though he was able to concentrate on Mint and help fix his jaw, he could not completely ignore the cries all around him, the noise that interconnected and dispersed, giving him a headache. Dread gripped at his heart as he realized he had no idea how today was going to turn out.

Dr. Crobat had left, going out a different way, because he wanted to get help. The three cops they had come with were killed. They should have brought more. Dr. Gelcro cursed himself for being so stupid as to not bring more. He thought he could handle Sandra with three cops, himself, and Dr. Crobat. He thought that their forces were sufficient enough.

But he had been wrong. Now both he and Dr. Crobat were injured and all three policemen were horrifically killed. He wanted to punch himself in the face for being so ignorant of the situation.

But now wasn't the time for that. They had to get going and fast. The sooner they got out of here, the better. He hoped Dr. Crobat will do okay. At least they don't have to worry about that gawd awful machine anymore. When Sandra left, she had been in such a hurry she had forgotten all about it. They had turned the machine off and Dr. Crobat took it with him as evidence. Probably a good call. It'd be hard to prove it was her machine if they didn't find a way to show that she was the one who built it.

Dr. Gelcro felt an enormous level of guilt as he looked at Mint, watching as he looked at his friends, and then at where Ripclaw was, with a wide, worried expression. Not just guilt, but shame, too. He had never felt so disgusted with himself before in his life.

He had been unfair to these four, especially to Snap and Mint. He had wrongfully accused Snap, as did so many other zoners. And they had treated Mint poorly because of what he had done years ago. He was so willing to believe that Mint would turn against them, he didn't stop to think about the facts. Mint hadn't threatened anyone since he figured out the truth of ChalkZone, and he had done a lot to help the city recover.

Yet he pushed all of that aside, and kept think the Enemy Creator would betray them so easily. He thought that he had been a force behind all of this, and he had little to no proof of that. He felt so ashamed.. He should have known better than to accuse Mint like that.

He wanted so badly to apologize to him, but...it would have to wait. This wasn't a good place for that. Not while Sandra was still loose. They needed to apprehend her fast and secure her while more police arrived at the restaurant. He was certain that these tunnels led to her restaurant, and so long as they keep her here while the restaurant was surrounded, she had nowhere to go.

"Okay, Rudy is secured!" Penny called out.

At this, Dr. Gelcro and Mint turned their heads over. They could see that Rudy was now fully secured in the litter. The straps were secured around his body, holding him in place. A cervical collar was fitted around his neck, keeping his neck from moving. He was ready to be transported.

Seeing the cervical collar made Dr. Gelcro's heart skip a beat. He just realized that he had no idea what happened. He was so focused on Mint that he didn't stop to ask what had happened to Rudy. He felt a quick wave of guilt, licking his lips nervously. He decided to rectify that.

"What happened to him?" Dr. Gelcro asked. He could see Mint lower his head in sorrow. He knew that was not a good sign.

"Sandra broke his neck." Penny whispered softly, a few tears flowing down her face.

Dr. Gelcro's ears lowered. "What...?"

"She bit his throat..." Snap said. His voice was bitter, but it wasn't aimed at him. Instead it was aimed at Sandra. "..and she crushed it. He can't move or feel anything below his neck..."

Oh no... That was terrible news. Dr. Gelcro looked down at Rudy in horror. The boy's eyes were wide, pupils shrank into dots. He must still feel the pain in his neck where the break was. The boy looked over at him, looking as though he was silently begging him to help. As much as Dr. Gelcro would love to give him something for the pain, he knew it would not work. Anything he'd try to inject would just dissolve.

The situation was even more serious than he had imagined. A dislocated jaw was bad enough. But a broken neck... Dr. Gelcro didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but he knew there was little chance for Rudy to recover from that. His neck might heal, but if he's paralyzed... There was damage to his spinal cord... There was almost no chance of that being healed.

He decided not to say anything. These kids already knew the seriousness of the situation. They must know how little chance the boy has at a full recovery. He would just be telling them something they were likely already aware of. And right now wasn't the time to give them a recovery status.

"You need him into the Real World." Dr. Gelcro said. He then looked over at Mint. "Him, too." He looked back at Penny. "They both require treatment. Especially Rudy there."

Penny nodded her head. "Yeah I know. But..how are we going to...?" Her voice trailed off as she looked over at where Ripclaw, Mosaic, and Sandra were still fighting. "I'm not sure how long they can hold them off..."

"Just draw a portal here." Dr. Gelcro said. When the three looked at him with an uncertain expression, his eyes furrowed with concern. "What? Are you not able?"

"Oh no, she can. But there is a catch." Snap said.

"And what's that?" Dr. Gelcro asked.

Penny said, "We don't know what's on the Real World side of this area. It could be somewhere unsafe, or where there's a lot of people, or..."

"Ah I see. Yeah, that will be a problem." Dr. Gelcro pressed his paw against his head, his eyes furrowing deep in thought. "If that's the case, then you will need to go somewhere that is guaranteed..." He looked over at where the three zoners were fighting. "But it will require getting past them."

This was an action that he knew was not going to be easy. Plausible, but it was going to be tough. He wasn't sure how the children could succeed in getting past her. They were blocking the path out. And with Rudy in a litter, they were going to need a safe way for them to leave. Rudy couldn't afford being jostled around too much. That could potentially make things a lot worse for him, even kill him if they weren't careful.

But the question was...how were they going to pull it off? They couldn't get her to run forward, because then she could simply block the path up ahead. But she couldn't go back either. She could attack Rudy, or cause Mosaic or Ripclaw to bump into him. This tunnel wasn't that small, but it wasn't terribly large either. They were going to need another way.

That's when he recalled something. He wasn't sure if it would help, but it was the only thing he could think of. He turned his attention to Mint and opened his mouth to speak. Realizing that Mint could not answer open ended questions, he backtracked and decided on a simpler question.

"You creators can use the magic chalk to create holes in chalk surfaces, right?" He asked. Mint nodded his head, and looked at him with expectancy. Looking at him, and then Penny, Dr. Gelcro continued, "You guys can use that to draw a path around, and you could get ahead of Sandra."

Mint's eyes widened at this, and he looked over at Penny. She looked surprised, as though she had no idea why she didn't thnk of it before. Snap also looked like he felt he should have known about this earlier.

"You're right... That could work!" Penny cried.

"So how are we going to do this?" Snap looked over worriedly at Ripclaw and Mosaic. "The tides are turning..."

The others, minus Rudy, looked over. Snap turned out to be right. The luck had shifted and now Sandra was fighting back against Ripclaw and Mosaic. While the two had put up a good fight, and Sandra looked pretty banged up, they weren't able to stop her. The dragon zoner appeared to remember her powers, and she was using them to subdue the two animal zoners.

Dr. Gelcro looked at the scene, horrified as were Penny, Snap, and Mint. Ripclaw and Mosaic were on the ground, convulsing, screeching in pain. They weren't sure exactly where Sandra was targeting, but they knew that if something wasn't done soon, they were going to get seriously injured.

Dr. Gelcro turned to the others. "I think I have an idea..."

The doctor quickly began to explain his plan. He tried his best to block out the screeches and howls of pain. He tried to block out the fact that Sandra could turn on them at any time. He focused on explaining his idea the best he could, preparing for any negotiations that come their way.

He hoped it was going to be enough.

sss

Sandra snarled, glaring hatefully at the zoners before her. Her body ached in many places. She felt stinging pain from where their claws got her, and the bite marks that adorned her. She could feel a sharp pain in her ear, from where Mint had bitten her. She twitched it painfully. Though she could treat her wounds now, she had something else to take care of firs.t

In front of her, Mosaic and Ripclaw were on the ground, thrashing and kicking in pain. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of using her powers on them until now. She should have done this earlier. It would have saved her a lot of trouble.

Instead, she had chose to just keep fighting them physically, and that hadn't turned out so well for her. She had been tossed around like a rag doll, jostled and thrown against the wall, bit and clawed at. She had managed some blows herself, but it wasn't enough to deter the two zoners from attacking her. She couldn't stop screaming as the two tried to tear her apart.

Well now she had the upperhand. Now she had them at her mercy. She snarled viciously at them, her lip curled up, showing her sharp teeth. Her mouth was ticked into an insane smile. She was not going to let these two get away with what they had done to her.

"Yes, that's right..struggle." Sandra hissed. "Try to get away all you want to. You will not escape me..."

Sandra knew exactly what she was going to do with these two. She had never thought about using animal zoner meat before. She had always used sentient meat, in part due to its flavor. But these two... They would provide a unique taste. Ripclaw could provide meat for quite some time. She decided that, if she was going to exert this much power killing two animal zoners, especially one much larger than herself, than she better have a good use for them later on.

And what better than her restaurant? Once all this was over, once she took care of anyone who stood in her way, she could go back and resume the restaurant business. Her customers were going to wonder where she was, and to make it up to them, she could give them some meat unlike any she has ever used before.

Sandra sneered at Mosaic, the one of the two who had given her the most trouble. "Don't look at me like that..." Mosaic snarled at her. "I'm sure you were going to taste quite good..."

She then turned her attention to Ripclaw. The feathers might be a problem, but probably not a big deal. She had shredded zoners with their clothing still on before, and it never seemed to affect the meat flavor that much. Still, perhaps she should pluck Ripclaw before she shoved her into the machine. Plus she was going to need to chop her up into multiple pieces in order for it to work.

"And you... You are going to feed my customers for weeks." Sandra said as she twisted her hand. Ripclaw pulled her head back and let out a screech. "You..."

"Step away from them!"

Sandra's ears pricked up at this. She turned her head over. A large fist slammed against her jaw, sending her flying back, breaking her hold on the two animal zoners. She let out a screech as she rolled across the ground. She shook her head and immediately got up. She snarled in the direction the punch had come from.

She noticed Dr. Gelcro standing there. He wasn't looking at her; instead he had his attention turned to Mosaic and Ripclaw. He was checking on them, making sure they were okay. The sight of him made her snarl and she adopted a defensive stance. She had no idea how he had gotten here, but that didn't matter. She was going to take care of him, and this time, she was going to make sure she finished the job.

"Hey you..." She started to say, before she paused and realized something.

Where was everyone? What happened to Rudy, Penny, and Mint? She didn't see them anywhere. They couldn't have left that fast, could they? Rudy's neck was broken...he wouldn't have been able to get up and run away himself. Had they left and gone down the tunnel? Back the other way? There was only one to find out.

But as she started to rush down, back to the room where her machine was, she felt something grab her by the tail. She looked over and was shocked to see Snap there. She was stunned, unable to speak. How had he snuck around her? Where did he come from?

She didn't have time to ask this when Snap yanked on her, pulling her backwards. She let out a cry as her chin slammed into the ground. She was pulled backwards. Snap mustered up as much strength as he could and he tossed her against the wall. Sandra's body stiffened as her head hit against the wall painfully. She fell back down, supporting herself up by her hands. She shook her head and she glared in his direction.

Snap, despite his pain, managed to get close enough to her to deliver a punch. Her eyes bulged open as she felt the fist hit against her stomach. She let out a scream and staggered back. She glared down at him, lowering her ears as her teeth were bared. She lifted up her foot and she kicked at him. The zoner flew back and crashed into the ground. He didn't stay that way and was soon back on his feet.

The two of them circled around each other slowly. Sandra hardly paid attention to the pained screeches from the animal zoners that Dr. Gelcro was taking care of. She hardly thought about the missing humans. Right now, her attention was on Snap only. They continued to walk around each other, their eyes never leaving one another. Then they took position on opposite sides of the tunnel, their backs nearly against the wall.

Sandra felt her heart twist. She didn't want to do this. She had never dreamed of doing something like this with Snap. She wished he would see reason. She wished that he would stop this nonsense. She didn't want this. She never expected things to turn out this way...

"Snap please..." Sandra pleaded, her eyes softening up. "Let's not do this. Why don't you just step down and..."

"I'm not stopping!" Snap shouted. "I won't stop until you are locked up in jail!"

Sandra widened her eyes. "Snap, please.. You don't know what you're talking about.." She reached out with her hand. "Please... this..."

Snap shook his head. "I'll only stop if you are willing to come quietly." He narrowed his eyes. "You have a lot to answer for."

"I didn't do anything wrong!" Sandra cried. A bit of anger began to surge through her. "Why can't you see that?!"

"You killed zoners, Sandra. You murdered them in cold blood." Snap growled at her. "You need to pay for what you have done. You have not only killed zoners, but you hurt others as well. Have you ever stopped to think of how they might feel, knowing what you have done?"

Sandra growled softly at ths. "They would thank me..."

Snap gasped in horror at this. Then his eyes narrowed. "You're a monster... A sick twisted monster... I can't believe I ever called you a friend."

Sandra gritted her teeth. She took in a couple quick breaths. A sense of icy dread rose up inside of her. "Please, Snap.. It doesn't have to be this way... Please, just listen to me..."

"I'm through with listening to your lies, Sandra!" Snap shouted at her. "You took advantage of my trust.. You took it and shattered it into pieces. You took advantage of me... Well no more! I will not let you use me like that again! I will not allow you to hurt anymore zoners! I am putting my foot down!"

Sandra looked at Snap, her eyes widened. She could tell that Snap was serious in this. She watched as he arched his back defensively. He was ready to attack her, ready to fight. Sandra found herself adopting a similar position, her tail twitching from side to side.

She didn't want to do this. She wished there was another way. But it seemed that Snap was not going to give her another choice.

"So that's your final answer?" Sandra asked. "You are going to fight me?"

Snap raised up his fists. "If that's what it takes to make you see reason and stop you from hurting others..then yes.."

Sandra narrowed her eyes. How hypocritical of him... Thinking that she needed to see reason when he was the one who refused to see things her way. How pitiful... Oh well, if he wanted to fight, then she guessed she had no choice but to comply. She took a fighting stance, her tail stretched up into the air.

"All right then... Let's get started..." Sandra said, her voice growly.

With that, the two zoners charged at each other.


	36. Exposing The Lie

It's far from over!

-Far From Over, Rev Theory

sss

"I-Is she following us..?" Came Rudy's uncertain, terrified question, his eyes widened, filled with emotion.

Penny bit her lip as she stared down at Rudy for a moment. He looked so innocent and terrified... She couldn't believe something so cruel could have happened to him. He was in so much pain. She could see it in his eyes. What made it even more devastating for her was... she had no idea if he was ever going to fully recover...

She shook the thought out of her head. She wanted to try to stay positive. She wanted to do whatever she could to keep Rudy from panicking. That was the last thing his body needed right now.

"No, Rudy. She's not following us." Penny said, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. "She's still back there. The others are distracting her." She looked into Rudy's eyes, smiling the best she could. "She won't be able to get you again."

Rudy stared at her. His eyes widened just slightly, and in a millisecond, his expression went from simply terrified to being still scared but hopeful. "R-Really..? You p-p-promise..?"

Penny resisted the urge to flinch at that. She exchanged a quick, knowing look with Mint. Both of them were instantly reminded of Sandra. That dragon zoner had been using promises as an excuse to do whatever she wanted. She had outright attacked Rudy and nearly killed him all because he broke a promise to Penny. Even though Rudy's question was in relation to a good promsie, they both couldn't help but feel reminded of Sandra's atrocities, hiding behind the guise of a promise.

Penny reminded herself that this promise had nothing to do with Sandra. And unlike that dragon fiend, she was not going to abuse it, or use it as a means of hurting others. No, she was going to go through the promise like anyone else should: the path that does not cause harm to anyone, and isn't used to vicious ends.

"Yes, Rudy. We promise." Penny said. "Don't worry..you'll be safe..."

Rudy smiled at this. The smile did not last, quickly fading into a pained frown. He let out a series of moans, prompting her and Mint to look at each other worriedly. They were moving him as gently as they could, but moving along these forged tunnels was difficult. Each time their feet hit against something, Rudy let out a help of pain.

The cervical collar was doing a good job at keeping Rudy's neck still. The straps on his body, across his legs, chest, arms, and forehead, further served to immobilze him, preventing him from hurting himself more. Penny and Mint both felt reassured that Rudy would be protected from further damage.

But there was still danger. Should Sandra find out what they had done, and if she were to charge towards them down the tunnel, there was little they could do. Sandra's powers would stop them in their tracks, and in Rudy's vulnerable position, he would be easy to pick off. Sandra could use her dangerous healing powers to keep them at bay while she went to finish off Rudy. She would not have to do much to him. A quick slice in his throat would be enough to kill him, or even gouging out one of his eyes, sending him into shock.

They continued to run down the hallway she herself had forged. While Sandra was still distracted, she and the others, with Dr. Gelcro's help, forged a plan that seemed to work rather well. Sandra had been so busy, she did not notice when she drew a tunnel that arched around, going through a part of the wall that previously had no path.

She made an exit for Snap and Dr. Gelcro to use. It wound around and emptied out into the hallway they were in before, just about thirty five feet away from Sandra. Both of them headed towards where Sandra would be. Dr. Gelcro wanted to provide aid for Mosaic and Ripclaw while Snap wanted to confront Sandra. He wanted to make sure that she wouldn't be able to hurt anyone again.

Penny feared for them. She hoped that they were going to be all right. Sandra was a dangerous foe. She wasn't sure how far her healing powers extended, how many people she could use on it at once, but it was still an unfair advantage that she had. She could induce it even without touching them, making attacking her much more difficult.

But for now, she tried not to focus on that. She had to focus on the task at hand. There was nothing they could do right now to help the others. They had to focus instead on getting to the front of the restaurant, warn the zoners, and then take Rudy to the hospital, as well as Mint.

They continued to run down the hallway for several minutes more. They weren't moving as fast as she would have hoped, but they had Rudy to consider. Mint, being the strongest of the two, held the front, where Rudy's head was, and was moving backwards quickly. Penny herself was holding the back end, where Rudy's legs were. The two of them worked together, managing to transport Rudy down the hall, keeping him more or less still and level.

The path had a single, wide curve, but it was amazing how hard it still was to navigate. Penny and Mint did their best to avoid every bump and nick on the ground, but it was difficult. The lighting was rather poor. Only very small lights were available that just barely illuminated anything. Penny didn't want to draw any kind of attention to them while they made their escape.

Rudy's litter was pretty long, which added to the difficulty of turning. They had to constantly move in a turn due to the pathway's shape, but this was difficult holding Rudy. Mint almost never could look at Penny as his eyes were constantly glued to behind him, making swift, constant adjustments as they headed down. They could easily just make another tunnel to cut straight through and get back in the main hallway, but they dared not to, not until they felt it was safe to do so.

They could simply go to the end. Penny was certain the tunnel would eventually empty out near the front where the restaurant most likely was. She just wasn't sure how long it was going to take.

After some running, Penny noticed something out in front of her. It was pale at first, and she thought she might be seeing things. But the more she looked, the more she realized where they were heading. Her eyes brightened up at this.

"We're nearing the end, Mint! Get ready!" Penny called out.

Mint gave a muffled cry, reminding Penny that, right now, he couldn't talk. He then nodded his head, showing her that he understood what she was talking about.

At this, they quickened their pace a little. It became a little harder to turn, and to dodge the cracks in the ground. They hit against them a few times, but they were able to hold onto Rudy tightly, preventing him from being tossed around so easily. They focused their attention on that exit, making sure Rudy was secured.

Soon they reached the exit of the tunnel. There was no door, and it was shaped in a hexagon. Penny didn't recall wanting this kind of exit, and wondered if this door had led somewhere initially. Perhaps there had been some kind of path here after all, but was blocked off by Sandra. She pushed the thought aside for the time being as she and Mint, carrying Rudy, headed out...

...and back in the tunnel they were in before. Penny looked over to the right, down where they had initially come from. She could hear some faint snarling, and some shouts, suggesting that Sandra was a good ways away. This offered them a good chance to get away, as Sandra would not be able to run fast enough to stop them.

Penny froze, her eyes widening. She realized that Sandra might be able to. She had moved quite siftly before, much faster than any of them had expected. This realization made their mission even more urgent, and, as they got into position, she started to move faster, prompting Mint copy her.

As they headed down, going towards the door they could see up ahead of them, Penny listened to the growls and screams that echoed faintly further down the tunnel. She was unable to discern them, so all she was able to do was hope that it meant that Snap had gotten the upperhand, and not the other way around...

sss

Snap hissed at the pain in his ankle. A part of him was surprised he was still in pain even after Sandra healed him. He had concluded that she wasn't as thorough as she thought she was, and the running he did before irritated the wound. After all, sprains are harder to heal than breaks.

But he didn't waste time thinking about that. He cast aside the pain he was feeling as he glared at Sandra. The two of them were pacing around each other, eyes locked onto one another. So far, Sandra hadn't attempted to use her powers on him. Perhaps it was out of reluctance? Perhaps she really didn't want to hurt him?

He doubted it. She didn't hesitate before. She was just playing with his mind, toying with him. Besides, if she didn't want to hurt him, she wouldn't have tormented him these past few weeks. She was a hypocrite, and a liar. He was going to make sure she didn't get a chance to keep hurting zoners the way she had.

Sandra seemed to take notice of his limping. A small smile spread across her face. It wasn't particularly malicious, but it wasn't very friendly either. "I see you are still in pain. Have you been careless when you ran?"

Snap growled at her. "Why would you care?"

Sandra's smile broadened. "Dear Snap, you know that I do care about you. But you are too blinded by your emotions to see the truth right in front of you." She stopped circling him, Snap following suit, wanting to keep her in front of him. She spread her arms out. "You are so certain you understand, yet you never take the time to consider my perspective..."

Snap's eyes narrowed at this. His teeth were bared as he gave his answer. "You aren't trying to listen to mine either!" Sandra tilted her head at this. "You complain so much about us not listening to you..." He pointed a rounded hand at her. "But you do not do the same for others! You're such a hypocrite!"

Sandra blinked her eyes a few times. Then she smiled, giving a soft chuckle. "Well it would all make sense if you'd just listen. But..." She held up her hand in gesture. "I suppose that isn't going to work. You are too angry right now. Perhaps I'll wait until you have cooled down and..."

"No! Do you think I'm going to let you get away?!" Snap cried before Sandra had a chance to turn around. He was not going to let her get away with this. He didn't care if he was hurt again in the process. He just wanted her to stop. "I'm going to stop you!"

Sandra tilted her head to the other side. She raised up an ear as a curious expression became present on her long, blue muzzle. "Whatever did I do?" Snap widened his eyes in shock at this. "What have I done to deserve the label of criminal? I think you are jumping to conclusions too easily, Snap."

Snap took a step back, staring at her. Had she really said what he thought she did? Was she really going to keep pulling that innocense card? Was she going to continue to deny the fact that she had been hurting people for a stupid reason?

Snap was shocked not by her being in denial like this, but by her persistance of it. He and the others had told her time and again what she had done, and why they hated her so much. Yet she had the gall to act as if she never heard them say those things, and had questioned him why he felt she deserved to be locked up. This realization made his blood heat up rapidly. If there was one thing he hated more than bad guys, it was criminals who continuously questioned the hostility against them.

"Well if you are going to continue being unreasonable..." Sandra said, ignoring Snap's glare. "..and if you want to continue fighting me.." She placed a hand against herself, and then motioned towards Snap. "I suppose I could reheal your ankle. I guess I didn't do a good enough job as I thought I did." She took a step forward. "But this will be the last time. After this, I fear you are on your own."

"Keep it to yourself..." Snap said. "I don't need your help."

Sandra merely chuckled at this. "Oh sorry, but I insist."

Snap was about to protest, but Sandra acted immediately. With a wave of her hand and a glow of her symbol, she sent a signal to his ankle. The same feeling before came back. Tingly and somewhat warm, it spread through his ankle, spreading up his leg. He could feel the pain fade away like it had before, seeping out almost like vapor. Then Sandra closed her fist and yank back, and Snap gave a quick shudder before his body relaxed.

Sandra said, "Now..isn't that better...?"

Snap didn't answer her, just glaring at her. If she was trying to butter him up through healing him, it wasn't going to work. He was not going to cast aside the memories of what she had done to him, and how she had betrayed him. Those feelings of bitter betrayal and hurt weren't going to go away anytime soon. Though a small part of him was grateful that the pain in his ankle was gone again, he couldn't bring himself to express gratitude towards Sandra, not after all the pain and misery she had forced him through.

Sandra cut him out of his thoughts. "I just hope that you learn to be more careful. Don't irritate your ankle." She stared at it long and hard. "Sprains are harder for me to heal. I may not have been thorough enough..."

The superhero zoner widened his eyes at this. He took that comment as Sandra pretty much telling him that she had purposely held back on the healing, or she was going to undo any healing she had done for him, or she was going to do something else entirely. She seemed like she could be the type of zoner to do something that cruel and unusual. He gritted his teeth, taking a small step back as he tried to weigh his options.

He knew he had to fight her, regardless of what she said. Even if he hurt his leg again, he couldn't back down. Sandra was going to turn all of ChalkZone City into a food fest. She would continue hunting down zoners, killing them for their flesh. He had to do what he can to stop this.

He also had to remember that one of his jobs was distraction. Sandra didn't know where the others were, and as long as he kept her attention on him, then she may not try to leave and stop his friends from escaping. Even if he ended up losing the fight, so long that he succeeds in keeping her here long enough for them to warn the zoners, then he had succeeded.

"What? You're not going to thank me?" Sandra asked. She had something of a shocked look on her face, but it was rather subdued, showing Snap that she wasn't really all that surprised. "Well that was just plain rude."

"You're the reason I got hurt in the first place..." Snap hissed at her. "You are the reason why I'm so hated in the city right now. So many zoners want to lynch me.. Do you have any fucking idea what that feels like, you bitch?!"

Snap ignored Sandra's face contorting in anger at what he had called her. He looked towards the ground, shutting his eyes as tears fromed in them. He remembered all too well what the zoners had said about him. He still had haunting nightmares focusing on how the mob of zoners had showed up in the front of the hospital, demanding his death. He would never get those awful voices out of his head, and how they had made him doubt himself.

Now much of his negative feelings were now being projected towards Sandra. She was the cause of all that. She was the reason those zoners wanted to lynch him. She was the reason why all of this had happened at all. It was her fault, and the worst part of all of it was... she had pretended to be his friend.

Snap considered himself a friendly zoner. He liked to help zoners out. He liked to help them find their purpose in life in ChalkZone. He had done the same for Sandra. And for her to take that and break it like it was nothing, to hurt him despite the fact that he had done what he could to get her business started at all... It hurt him on so many levels.

"Well then... since you aren't going to answer, I am going to assume that you want to get this battle started." Sandra said. She then casually turned her head to the side, her eyes focusing on something else. "I wonder how long you can keep me away from them."

Snap's eyes widened in horror. He swiveled his head to where Sandra was looking. He noticed she was staring straight at Dr. Gelcro, who was providing aid to Mosaic and Ripclaw. His heart froze when he realized just what Sandra was indicating. He shot her a glare. "Don't you dare.."

Sandra gave him a sideways glance, smiling. "Oh don't worry, Snap. I wasn't going to kill them for any senseless reason." She waved her hand dismissively. "I just thought that Mosaic might taste good on a burger."

Snap looked at Sandra in shock before he growled at her. "What has she done to deserve that?"

Sandra glared at him. "I think it would be rather simple for you to know. But then, it's not like you are up to date with everything that happened, am I right?" She began to pace around Snap again. Snap followed suit, glaring at her, tensing his body up. "Well in case you were unaware, Mosaic here has been a thorn in my side." She motioned over at where the crocodile zoner was. "I need to make sure that she doesn't interfere again. She knows too much."

Snap said, "Are you aware of what your actions will cost you, then?"

Sandra nodded her head. "Yes." At first, Snap thought this meant that she had some kind of guilty conscience, but this was shattered with her next line. "Someone will steal my ideas. I am the only restaurant in this city that uses actual zoner meat, and I'll be damned if anyone exposes that secret. I will not tolerate anyone stealing from me."

Snap felt like he wanted to throw up. Did Sandra really think that her actions were socially acceptable? Did she really believe that no one would see her actions as atrocities, and actually try to copy them? The reality of this sunk into his heart, twisting it. He could feel his blood's heat reach tremendous tempers, his lip curling up into a snarl.

Snap couldn't understand just how Sandra thought all of this was okay. It was as if her morality system got screwed up at some point in creation. What could possess anyone to think like this? He had never met someone with such a twisted and confusing way of seeing the world. Jacko and Skrawl never really hid their motivations much; they were up front and honest about what they wanted to do, Jacko more so. And Mint...well he wasn't lying when he said he though ChalkZone was a game, and while he did act like he did nothing wrong, unlike Sandra, he had a better reason. He really did think he was in a virtual world, and it took a nasty wake up call to make him realize he was wrong.

But Sandra... She did admit that she was killing zoners and using their flesh in meat recipes. But unlike the others, she only kept it a secret because she thought that someone would steal her idea, as if it was a legitimate practice or something. Sandra seems to honestly believe that what she is going is normal, and that no one has the right to complain.

That's what makes her more disgusting than someone like Skrawl. At least Skrawl didn't hide the fact that zoners would be miserable under his rule. He didn't pretend or give off any benevolent persona.

As the anger swirled through his chest and head, as he glared over at Sandra, he could feel his mind begin to cave in. He was already furious with her before, but now she just kept pushing him over the edge. The realization that all those zoners in ChalkZone City were going to be harvested like animals by this monster began to eat away at him. Now, even more so, he was determined to stop her.

Without saying a word, he charged at her.

Sandra widened her eyes, looking a bit surprised by the sudden movement. Then she simply side stepped at the last second, watching as Snap tumbled past her, nearly hitting against the wall. He growled and turned around. He came at her again, pulling a fist back and trying to punch her.

Sandra narrowed her eyes and, with a glow, Snap let out a cry of pain. He held his arm to himself, a strong ache spreading through it, attacking his joints. He didn't let it deter him for long and he resumed his attack on Sandra. But he had been distracted long enough for her to make a move on him. She had rushed towards him, moving around so that she was at his side. Snap looked over just in time for her head to slam against him. He let out a cry of pain as her hard skull hit against him, sending him flying to the side.

Snap winced as he rubbed his shoulder, which had hit against the wall, and he glared over at Sandra. She stood a few feet away from him, smiling. She raised up her hand and motioned for him to come back. He growled at this. The bitch must be toying with him...

He did not hesitate to rush at her again. He was not normally a violent zoner, but Sandra's atrocities were pushing him over the edge. His determination to stop her had opened up the doors to opportunities he normally would not take. Snarling, he lunged at her when he got close enough and this time, managed to push against her. He got her pinned against the wall, glaring hatefully at her.

But it would seem that she had simply allowed this to happen, because seconds later, she grabbed him by his neck with relative ease, taking advantage of his blind spot as he was too focused on her. Snap gagged as she lifted him up into the air, staring at him in the eyes, grinning. He struggled in vain to get free, but she merely squeezed his neck, causing him to gag. He remained suspended in the air, his legs dangling.

It didn't take him long to realize that Sandra was close enough for an attack. He pulled his foot back and he slammed it against her stomach. Her eyes bulged as she let out a cry of pain. She staggered back, releasing him. Snap immediately put a bit of space between him and the dragon zoner.

The two of them paced around each other slowly, glaring at one another. Snap did not dare turn his eyes away. He watched her, waiting for her to make a move. But all she did was stare at him, pacing around him. He tried to match her every move.

On occassion, Sandra would move swiftly to one side. She'd then rush at him. Snap would let out a cry of fear, jumping back, only for Sandra to recoil. His heart quickened its beating as he snarled at her. Sandra did this a few more times, each one unexpected, and just an attempt to mess with him. With each one, she'd smile, as if she thought this was supposed to be a joy or something. This made his heart twist hard in emotion.

Suddenly, as he kept moving around to match her, and to keep her always in his sights, his heel hit against something on the ground. It didn't twist it, but instead caused him to fall into the ground, on his back. He let out a yelp of surprise. Before he could get up, there was a flash of blue, and in seconds, Sandra was on top of him.

Snap stared up at Sandra, who held his arms at his sides, gripping them tightly. Her tail wriggled around like a snake, her feet planted at either side. He felt her rest on his stomach, applying just enough pressure to keep him on the ground, but not too much as to not suffocate him.

Snap began to struggle on the ground, jerking himself as hard as he could from side to side. He snarled, "Let me go!"

Sandra just smiled at him. "Oh I don't see why I should. After all, you were going to wrongfully hurt me."

Snap gaped at her. "What do you mean wrongfully?!" He struggled harder, wriggling underneath Sandra's weight. "You're the one who..."

"Oh please! Enough of that!" Sandra snarled, rolling her eyes. "You know very well you brought this on yourself! If you hadn't ruined my machine, none of this would have happened!" She put her face close to his, her sharp teeth inches away from his face. "You are the one who hurt me! I thought I could trust you, Snap! But you stabbe me in the back and ruined my machine! Now you must be punished for that! But since you don't seem to have learned your lesson, I will just have to try harder..."

Snap felt his blood boiling, practically dissipating in his veins. Sandra thought he betrayed her? That he was the one worthy of punishment? All this in light of her being the one killing zoners and feeding them to other zoners? How sickening...

He thrashed on the ground, kicking his legs wildly. Sandra hissed at him, holding him down harder. She began to use her healing powers on him again, causing him to yelp as pain snaked through his arm. But he didn't let it detract him for long. Glaring her direction, Snap jerked from side to side with as much force as he could muster, and he soon managed to free his arm. He pulled his fist back and punched her on the forehead, square on her mark.

Sandra's eyes bulged and she pulled her head back, letting out a screech. Snap pulled himself from underneath her, jumping back to put distance between them. He adopted a defensive stance, glaring in Sandra's direction.

The dragon zoner's body stiffened, quivering in pain. Snap stared at this, surprised that the punch had this much of an effect on her. He wondered if it had something to do with that mark on her forehead. Realizing that he may have just figured out her weakness, Snap narrowed his eyes in determination.

While she was still incapacitated, he shouted, "I can't believe you! Is that what you think? That I destroyed your precious machine on purpose just to hurt you?! You really don't know me that well, do you?! And instead of confronting me about it, instead of trying to hear my side, you jump to conclusions, assume I did it on purpose, and you started to punish me!"

Sandra spoke through a pained voice, her teeth clenched. "Y-You knocked a sh-sh-shelf onto it... That was n-no accident!"

"It was an accident!" Snap shouted, his voice raising in volume. "I didn't even know what the dang thing did at the time! I hadn't meant to destroy it!" Snap hunched his shoulders, his glare against Sandra intensifying. "I still would have hated you after I found out what you did, but I would have hated you less if you had just told the truth up front. Instead, you chose to torture me!" He took a step forward. "How could I ever forgive you for that?!"

Sandra rolled her eyes. "I told you, I was not torturing you."

"Oh enough of that! I've had it with you!" Snap barked. "Come on..." He gave a playful sneer, motioning his hand, daring her to make a move. "Let's continue on, shall we...?"

Sandra looked at him in surprise, then her ears lowered and she furrowed her brow. "All right then, friend..."

The two resumed their fight.

sss

"There..that should do it..." Dr. Gelcro said softly as he finished up the bandages. "Now you're all patched up."

Dr. Gelcro looked left and right, taking note of his handiwork. Both the animal zoners were bandaged up from their fight with Sandra. Much of their bodies had been turned white due to the bandages that now covered them. The tightness of them stood out the most in Ripclaw, the bandages causing her fur to seemingly poof up at the edges.

The two animal zoners were on their feet. Though they weren't capable of a large range of human-like expressions, he could tell that they were in pain. The look in their eyes gave it all away, as did the wobbling as they tried to stay up. But there was something else in their eyes, too, that he could not dismiss.

Anger...and determination.

The dog zoner turned his head at where Snap was, fighting Sandra. He watched as the two exchanged blow after blow, knocking into each other, throwing each other away. It was a pretty violent display, despite there not really being much, if any, blood shed. It took him a few seconds to realize something, causing his eyes to widen and his teeth to sink into his bottom lip.

They were both holding back. Well he knew Snap was. He couldn't imagine him deliberately doing anything to hurt Sandra that much. He just wanted to incapacitate her so she could be arrested. But Sandra... Even though he did not know her that well, even though he had no idea what her full capabilities were, he couldn't help but notice her movements, the way she attacked.. It all indicated that she was not fighting at her full strength.

While part of him was relieved at this, another was horrified. Sandra was handling Snap quite well, able to match his moves. Snap was able to counter most of the time. But Dr. Gelcro noticed he was a tad slower in reaction, and Sandra was managing more hits against Snap. The realization that she was holding back chilled Dr. Gelcro. If she could manage this at only part of her strength, then once she unleashed her full potential, then even without her powers...

..Snap stood no chance...

Dr. Gelcro wanted to shout at Snap and warn him, but he worried that might prompt Sandra to do worse, even kill him. He looked over at Mosaic and Ripclaw. They both wanted to get back into the fight, but he couldn't permit that. He couldn't allow them to get hurt.

The dog zoner's mind ached as he tried to think of something he could do. He felt at a loss. He wanted to help Snap, but they were in a constant flurry with each other. He didn't think he'd be able to land a blow without hurting Snap in the process. And he couldn't simply distract her. She may not buy it and she may instantly retaliate against him. His body ached, recalling what she had done to him before.

But he couldn't just sit around here and do nothing... He wasn't sure how long Sandra was going to wait before she pulled the rug out from under him. And he didn't think he could hold back the animal zoners for long. They were clearly looking for a fight. Despite their wounds, they wanted to go back after Sandra.

Dr. Gelcro gripped his head, pressing his claws against his scalp. This was such a hard decision... He had to think of something he could do. There had to be away he could help Snap. He...

Suddenly he heard a loud scream. Dr. Gelcro shot his head up, looking at the scene in shock. To his horror, Sandra had raked her claws across Snap's shoulder, leaving behind four gashes, blood dripping from them. Snap was staggering back, clutching his arm against himself. He looked up at Sandra, baring his teeth.

"I...will not admit...I betrayed you.." Snap growled softly.

Sandra flattened her ears at this, her pupils shrinking slightly. "Wrong answer..."

The dragon zoner zipped across the tunnel, closing the gap between her and him in a second. Dr. Gelcro gasped as the dragon zoner seized Snap by his arm. The supehero zoner screamed as Sandra shook him like a rag doll for a couple seconds before tossing him into the ground. Then she went into a stalking position and began to slowly walk over to Snap.

Dr. Gelcro realized that Sandra was beginning to use more of her skill against Snap. His breathing increased, his heart clenching tightly, ice running through it. He watched as Sandra was about to lunge at Snap. Unable to take it anymore, Dr. Gelcro took action.

"Get the fuck away from him!"

Sandra looked over. Her eyes widened as she saw a paw coming straight down. It struck her in the face, producing bloody marks. She screamed as she toppled across the ground, landing on her back.

sss

Penny felt relieved when she and Mint finally reached the door. She then realized that they needed a way to open it up. The door was shut and their hands were kind of full. She attempted to slow down, thinking Mint would get the hint. But the boy was not slowing down; instead he was speeding up.

"Mint! What are you doing?!" Penny cried in horror.

Mint gave her a quick glance, a look that told her to trust him. Penny wasn't sure how to respond to this. Not wanting Rudy to get hurt, she had no choice but to increase her speed to match his. The two of them headed towards the door, moving faster. Penny's heart sped up as they got closer. She looked at Mint with wide eyes, wondering what he thought he was going to do.

They collided with the door seconds later. Penny felt herself jerk forward, nearly tripping over herself in the process. She heard Rudy give a loud cry of pain. Penny lifted her head up after she recovered, glaring at Mint.

But to her surprise, they were still moving. Ramming against the door had somehow managed to open it. Penny wondered how that was possible, but she pushed the thought behind her as her ears filled with the noise that she had wanted to hear.

The sound of other zoners.

She and Mint rushed from behind the back of the restaurant, the register with the filthy blood money in front of them. The restaurant had a couple of zoners sitting down, eating what appeared to be left overs, possibly from this restaurant, something that Sandra had apparently allowed. There was a line of zoners in front of the register. There were at least ten of them.

The chattering that had echoed in the room and in their ears faded away. The zoners all looked over, noticing the children. They froze in shock, some of them with food close to their mouths, preparing to eat. They did not attempt to close their mouths to eat, instead watching the two warily, in confusion. This was the same for even the zoners in line, or just hanging around.

As they came around from behind the register, Penny and Mint could see the zoners' expressions flash with fear and horror as they took notice of their condition, particularly Rudy. The sight of the Great Creator in a stretcher like this, a stiff collar around his neck to keep it in place, was truly a shocking and frightening experience. The zoners murmured softly, looking at each other, whispering softly. None of them dared to make a move towards them, their expressions enough to show that they weren't certain what they should do.

Penny didn't waste any time. She glanced at the zoners, giving them all a look of great urgency. This expression alone was enough to make the zoners look even more worried than they had been. They could tell something was very wrong, even without looking at Mint and Rudy. Before any of them could say anything, Penny shouted, "You have to get out of here! It's not safe for any of you here! Run!"

This caused nervous exchanges among the zoners. They looked at each other, and then back at Penny. But none of them tried to get out. They just stood there, or sat there, staring at her in confusion and shock.

Penny didn't bode with this well. "What are you waiting for?!"

"...what's going on...?" One of the zones asked.

"Yeah..." Another asked nervously. "Why should we leave..?"

At that moment, as Mint shot her a look as well, Penny realized she had forgotten to tell the zoners what was going on. She felt so stupid. How could she have forgotten? Had she been that urgent on getting out that she had neglected to tell the zoners this important piece of information? Oh well, she couldn't spend too much time beating herself up over it, so she quickly remedied the situation.

"Sandra is not who you think! She is not your friend! She would tear you all apart! Just look at what she did to my friends!" Penny cried, her voice laced in desperation.

"...you mean Sandra did that?" A female stick figure asked, pointing a finger at Mint. "Are you sure it wasn't self defense?"

"And what about Rudy? Do you think this was self defense?" Penny snarled, angry that the zoners would even think to consider Mint being the culprit despite him being injured. "He wasn't the one who did this to Rudy. Sandra was!"

This caused a ripple of shock and horror to race through the zoners. Penny and Mint looked around, watching as the zoners talked to each other nervously. The room filled with the echoes of the zoners' voices, and soon it was hard to tell who was saying what, and what was even being said at all.

As the zoners talked to each other, Penny looked down at Rudy to see how he was doing. She let out a gasp of shock when she saw that he had passed out. She looked at him, her eyes darting around, looking for any sign of life. Rudy's eyes were shut softly, and he didn't move. No matter how long she looked at him, he didn't move an inch. The only movement at all she could see was the rise and fall of his chest as he took in shaky, thin breaths.

Penny turned her attention to the zoners, who were still talking with each other. It was clear that finding out that Sandra had hurt the Great Creator had startled them deeply. They were trying to figure out why she would do such a thing.

Penny cleared her throat. Once she got the zoners' attention, she said, "Listen to me, everyone! Sandra has been..."

She was cut off when a gruff voice sounded out in her direction. "She had done what, ma'am?"

Penny looked over and saw what appeared to be a giraffe dressed in some kind of a suit. From the looks of things, especially that badge on his suit, he was some kind of cop.

Penny shouted, "She has been murdering zoners!" This was enough to cause the zoners to gasp in horror. But Penny wasn't done yet. There was more. She looked over at the zoners eating their left overs, giving them a sympathetic look. This caused them to look at her in confusion. Penny did not leave them wondering for long. "Sandra has been slaughtering zoners and she used that machine of hers to..."

"You mean the one that Snap destroyed?" Asked a nervous zoner.

"How is it destroyed if Sandra used it?" A female zoner asked, confused. "Did Snap help her rebuild it?"

Penny shook her head. "No! Snap has nothing to do with this!"

"Please calm down, girl." The giraffe said. "And please..tell us what you think Sandra has been up to."

Penny looked at the zoners all around her, feeling their stares boring through hers. This was a little harder than she had imagined. She wished that Mint could help her. But there was little he could do. It was up to her to deliver the terrifying news.

Penny did not hesitate for long. "Sandra has been using the machine to grind up zoners, and then she used their meat in her recipes!" She saw the horrified looks on the zoners' faces. They were looking at her expectantly. They clearly knew what this meant, and she decided to confirm it for them. With a grim nod, she said, "Yes... all her specials have had sentient zoner meat in them. She's been feeding you all the flesh of your own kind!"

Almost immediately, the zoners reacted in great disgust. She and Mint watched them sadly as they wretched, holding their mouths, resisting the urge to throw up. Many of them fell to the ground, trembling too much to stand up. Some had to lean against a table or the wall for support. The ones who had been eating immediately spat out their food, wiping their tongues to get the taste out. Two of them began to vomit, spilling their stomach's contents all over the table and chair.

After a few seconds, the zoners began to help each other. Penny could see that many of them had begun to cry, emotion taking a hold of them. Zoners comforted other zoners as they tried to cope with the weight of this horrible news. They already held a haunted look in their eyes, and it was clear that this was going to leave them traumatized for a long time.

"I-I can't believe it... I-I was eating..."

"How could she do something so disgusting...?"

"What if I was eating my friend?!"

"How long has this been going on? Why couldn't we see this?"

"This..this is just a bad dream... I'll close my eyes and wake up and this would all have been just a nightmare..."

Penny and Mint stared at the zoners sympathetically. They could tell they were having a hard time digesting this uncomfortable information. Penny wished she could say something to cushion the blow, but how could she do that with news this horrible? All she and Mint could do was watch as the zoners cried and tried to comfort one another over this startling and horrendeous discovery.

To find out that they were unintentionally cannibals...eating meat from their own kind... That was a horrible and terrifying discovery. They couldn't begin to imagine just how torn up they must feel inside. Their guts must be wrenching, watching to free themselves of any trace of the wretched meat that Sandra had been using. Mint and Penny could not blame them. If they themselves had found out they had unintentionally ate meat from other humans, they would feel rather sickened as well.

The giraffe zoner, who had looked a bit stoic before, was now frightened, his body trembling. "I-I...You mean.. Sandra had...?"

Penny nodded her head a few times. "Yes. She had been killing zoners to use as food."

The giraffe zoner took in a few shaky breaths. "I don't believe it."

Penny lowered her gaze. "There's more..."

At this, many of the zoners looked at Penny, their eyes wide in fear. The giraffe zoner took a step forward, staring at Penny and waiting for her to continue.

"Sandra was the one who killed those zoners several weeks ago. She was the one who rigged the explosives at Snap's party." Penny looked at the zoners, and noticed their expressions. She narrowed her eyes softly as she remembered many of the harsh things the zoners had said about Snap. "She had framed Snap, and she tricked you all into thinking he was the culprit."

The zoners cringed at this. A few of them lowered their heads in shame, their eyes flashing with guilt. They looked at one another, some of them asking themselves multiple, emotion-fueled questions.

Penny could not blame them for this reaction. She recognized many of the zoners in the room as a few that had been in the mob, accusing Snap of being a murderer. Now the truth had been exposed, laid bare before them. Even if some of them disbelieved her, they couldn't deny how horrifying a discovery this was. The ones that did believe her, Penny could imagine them feeling very guilty, knowing that they had been tormenting the wrong zoner.

Penny looked over at the policeman. She watched as he took a few steps towards her. His body was shaking like a leaf at this discovery. He opened his mouth to speak, but shut it, licking his lips nervously. Then he tried again, and this time, he managed to succeed.

In a faint voice, he asked, "Where is Sandra?"

Penny gestured her head towards the door. "Snap is back there fighting her now. He's doing what he can to keep her occupied." There was a murmur all around her. Penny could tell the zoners were reacting in surprise and guilt at how selfless Snap was being. She continued, "Call for backup. Mint and I need to take Rudy to the hospital. Sandra bit down on his throat and snapped his neck."

The giraffe looked down at Rudy, lowering his ears. He then turned to Sandra and, frowning in determination, he nodded his head. "Will do."

With that, the giraffe zoner pulled out his walkie talkie. Penny kept quiet, as did the zoners. Anxiety and tension rose in the air as the giraffe pushed a few buttons, the sound of static ringing out of the speakers. He brought it to his elongated mouth and spoke harshly into it.

"Hello, police station? I request backup."


	37. Temper

Why won't you die?! Your blood in mine! We'll be fine! And then your body will be mine...!

-System, Queen Of The Damned

sss

Sandra climbed back up to her feet. She placed a hand against her cheek, feeling how sore it was. She shook her head, wondering at first who had struck her. The answer became quite obvious. As she lifted up her head, she was not at all surprised to see Dr. Gelcro standing there.

The dog zoner's neck fur was raised up on end, his pupils shrunk into dots. His lips were curled up, showing his sharp teeth at her. Sandra was startled at first, but only for a split second. She narrowed her eyes, getting off the ground and turning to face the zoner. She adopted a defensive stance of her own, her tail swishing from side to side.

Just how stupid was this doctor? Didn't he leanr his lesson before? Of course not. He was just ignorant of the situation. Well since her earlier warning didn't work, she would have to try something more...thorough with him this time.

She looked over at where Snap was. At the moment, he was laying down on the ground, on his stomach. He was pushing himself up onto his hands, slowly regaining his footing. She narrowed her eyes at this as her mind began to surge with thoughts.

Just what was she going to do with him? She had tried to be reasonable. She had tried to show him the error of what he had done, and help him change for the better. All she ever wanted to do was help him. Yet he couldn't understand that. He was infuriated with her even after she had explained to him what her goal had been. He had even called her a liar, and accused her of using him for her sick, twisted purposes.

None of that was true. Sandra did care about him. She liked him and thought he was a nice guy. She was grateful for what he had done for her. She was just returning the favor. As he helped her get her fresh new start in ChalkZone, she had wanted to help him by showing him how to be a better person, to acknowledge when he had done wrong and admit to it.

She knows he destroyed the machine on purpose. There was no way he could have done that by accident. She wished he would have confessed to it and apologized. She would have forgiven him. But now..he was just so stubborn, and he denied what he did, and he had the gall to say she was the bad guy...

Well she would take care of him later. She would figure out a way to fix things. In the mean time, she had someone else to take care of.

"I see you don't know when to quit." Sandra said. "Why couldn't you just leave? This isn't of your concern."

Dr. Gelcro took a few steps towards Sandra, his ears lowering. "You need to stop this, Sandra. Sooner or later, the other zoners are going to find out what you've been doing. You will be ostracized and arrested. No one is going to defend you."

Sandra narrowed his eyes. What a naive fool he was... If the zoners had any kind of intelligence to them, which she was certain they did, they would understand the importance of a promise, and how she was just upholding it. All she was doing was making sure the promise wasn't broken. Everyone should know what once a promise was made, it cannot be taken back.

She was aware of how dangerous this was. That was why a promise should be handled with care. One must be careful of what they said before they made one, because undoing it was not an option.

Dr. Gelcro cut her off from her thoughts. "Especially if they find out what you did to Rudy! They would all turn on you!"

Sandra shook her head at this. "I'm sure they would thank me. Rudy was nothing more than a worthless promise breaker." She said with a tone of bitterness. Her eyes blazed slightly. "He is not to be trusted."

Dr. Gelcro narrowed his eyes. "Exactly when did he break this alleged promise?"

"He promised to help Penny with some drawings, and he failed to do so." Sandra said. "And since he failed, he is a promise breaker. Therefore, he has no place in this world. All promise breakers must pay for their sins. I was merely giving him what he truly deserved."

"That was years ago... He...he did help her in the end..." Snap said with a weak voice. Sandra turned her head, raising up an ear as she stared at Snap with one eye. "Penny forgave him."

"Well isn't that sweet." Sandra said sarcastically. "I can see her heart is foolishly open." Snap growled at this. Sandra ignored it and turned her head away. She spoke again, addressing them both. "I don't care how long ago it was. The time frame does not matter. If Rudy wasn't punished, then he had escaped justice. If that is the case, then I am glad I was here to deliver that long overdue retribution."

Snap leaned against the wall, seething in pain. Sandra took note of the wounds she gave him. Scratches and bruises mostly. Some of his clothes were a bit torn. He looked pretty beat up, but was able to still stand. She herself wasn't looking that good, and some of the pain increased, such as where Mint had chopped off part of her ear. She ignored her pain as she watched Snap, waiting for him to speak.

"Rudy did pay..kind of." Snap said. "It was because this broken promise that Penny was captured and turned against him, or so we thought. Yeah it was all fake, but Rudy did feel guilty about it."

Sandra blinked a few times. She tilted her head to one side. "Oh? So he did recieve some kind of punishment after all?"

Snap nodded his head. "Whatever you like to call it, yes. Not that I think he deserved to be punished..."

Sandra took this into consideration. She thought about what Snap said, allowing it to sink into her head, letting her figure out what it meant. Perhaps she had been a little hasty. Perhaps she should have asked before if Rudy had been punished for it. Snap didn't go into detail, but she trusted it was a sufficient level of punishment, which meant that what she did was entirely unnecessary.

There was a brief pang of guilt, but she pushed it away. There was nothing she could do about it now. Besides, he was just a promise breaker. One punishment often wasn't enough. Rarely did she think that a promise breaker should be allowed to live. She held very little regret for what she did. Why should she? She was simply doing the right thing.

Sandra merely shrugged her shoulders. "Regardless, he got what he deserved."

Snap continued to glare at her. "How can you be so cold...?"

"I'm not cold. I'm just logical." Sandra replied, keeping her voice level. She folded her arms against her chest, feeling the cold metal of her chest plate. "Of course, I don't expect you to understand. You seem adament about ignoring what I say in favor of your own bizarre logic."

"My bizarre logic?!" Snap cried.

Sandra smiled at him and nodded. She then turned away, ignoring Snap's confused cries. She focused on Dr. Gelcro once more, who appeared to be sneaking up towards her. She narrowed her eyes at this, her expression enough to freeze the dog zoner in his place.

She was not surprised that he had tried to take this opportunity to attack her from behind. It seemed like the perfect strategy that he would use. She was distracted, so that would have been an excellent time to lunge at her. Just a shame that he had hesitated. Not that it would have done him much good; she likely would have heard him in time to get out of the way. Still, she would have been at least impressed by his efforts.

She took quick notice of the absense of Ripclaw and Mosaic. She narrowed her eyes softly at this, turning her head slightly around to see if she could spot them. She wondered where they could have gotten off to. Perhaps they ran off to find help. No matter; their lack of speech would make this task much harder.

Although she still wasn't comfortable with the idea of not knowing where everyone was, she knew she couldn't waste time trying to figure it out. So she kept her focus on just Dr. Gelcro and Snap. First, Dr. Gelcro would have to be dealt with. Then she would go after Snap. She would rather do this one on one with him. No interferences or interruptions. She really wanted to give Snap one more shot, and she would rather do that without worry of someone cutting her off.

"I really don't want to attack you." Sandra said, her red eyes glued onto Dr. Gelcro's. "And I can avoid that...if you leave now."

Dr. Gelcro gave a bitter chuckle. "Do you really think I'm going to just leave because you told me to?" She watched him as he lowered his head a little, his teeth bared as he continued to speak. "I have no intention on leaving Snap with someone like you..."

Sandra let out an exasperated sigh. "Look, I'm giving you a chance to leave in one piece." She held up her hand in gesture. "If you leave now and promise not to interfere with me, I will see to it that both you and your..friend..." She couldn't remember if they were buddies or not. "...fully recover from the wounds I inflicted on you."

"Like hell I'm going to take that offer." Dr. Gelcro snarled at her.

"I suppose you want to stay hurt then?" Sandra asked, perplexed by his denial of her service. "Is that it?"

"It's a simple matter of pride." Dr. Gelcro gave a somewhat bitter smile. "You see...I have a thing against being treated by the same person who hurt me, when that same person did not learn any lesson or tried to change."

"So you think I should try to change my ways?" Sandra couldn't help but feel insulted by this. She felt something burn in her stomach. How could he try to request such a thing from her? "That really seems unfair, don't you think?"

Dr. Gelcro didn't look really impressed by what she said. He narrowed his eyes a bit further, his face contorting. "Unfair, huh? Was it fair when you snapped Rudy's neck like it was nothing? Was it fair that you killed countless zoners, all in the name of this scheme of yours? Was it fair that you tricked almost everyone, myself included, that Snap was a monster?"

Sandra could detect not just bitterness, but also some hurt in his voice. She could tell that he felt awful about how he had treated Snap. She knew, from his expression alone, that if he could go back in time and change things, he would have prevented himself from becoming such a jackass to Snap. But the past was the past, and there was nothing he could do about it now. She hoped that he realized that.

She could understand why he would be so upset. It was not a fun thing for a zoner to find out that they had been blaming the wrong zoner. She couldn't really blame him at all for that.

But he had to understand that she wasn't using him, nor was she trying to create a rift. She needed the zoners to turn against Snap, at least on some level, on order for Snap to understand what it felt like being hurt and betrayed. Turning the zoners against Snap was a necessary evil that, while she did not want to perform, she knew had to be done. If Dr. Gelcro took time to really thought about that, he would see that she had only been trying to help.

All of this was going to be over soon anyway. If it hadn't been for the interference, she would have ended this, and things would have gone back to normal. Of course, they just had to complicate things... How unfortunate.

"I know where you are coming from and I understand. Really, I do." Sandra placed a hand against herself. "It wasn't something I really enjoyed doing, and I admit, there were times when I wondered if I was going a bit too far."

"Oh really now?" Dr. Gelcro asked, cocking an eyebrow. His voice was laced in sarcasm. "You don't say?"

Sandra ignored the sarcasm and nodded her head. "But it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I couldn't break the promise until Snap learned his lesson. I had to make sure it was thorough so he would know not to do it again."

"You could have tried to do it without having a bunch of zoners try to lynch me." Came Snap's bitter comment, but Sandra chose to ignore it.

However, Dr. Gelcro did not ignore it. "Snap is right, Sandra. If you felt Snap needed to learn a lesson, you could have just confronted him about it. You could have told him, in his face, what you thought he did and work out a solution then." He took a step forward. "Instead, you chose to hurt him. And you murdered several zoners in the process, all in cold blood, and you put the blame on Snap. Just..." He gripped the sides of his head. "..how sick and twisted do you have to be to think that was a good idea...?!"

"Well when you put it like that, sure it sounds bad." Sandra admitted, holding her hand out as she gestured with it. "But come on.. if you just stop and think, and not let your mind get clouded, you would realize that..."

"Shut up!" Dr. Gelcro barked.

Sandra's eyes widened in shock when the dog zoner, his temper clearly lost, charged at her. She heard Snap shout at him, telling him to stop. But it was all in vain. Dr. Gelcro didn't stop and instead just increased his speed. In a split second, he lunged at Sandra.

The dragon zoner didn't waste time reacting. She moved along to the side in an almost graceful manner. She watched as the dog zoner brushed pasted her. He turned his eyes, and in that moment, they locked onto hers. In a split second, she could see he realized his error. Taking advantage of the brief opening, Sandra formed a fist with her hand and struck down onto his back, between his shoulders. This was enough to knock him into the ground, onto his stomach.

Sandra pinned him down, pressing a foot against him. She pressed her claws against his back, causing him to wince and yelp in pain. He squirmed on the ground, trying to escape her. He tried to bite at her leg, but she immediately seized his jaw, holding it shut in her hand. She slammed his head against the ground, turning it roughly to force him to look up at her.

"I really don't want to do this, Dr. Gelcro. If you do not call off your attack, I will be forced to take more drastic measures." Sandra said in a stern voice. "I cannot afford interruptions. If you do not calm yourself down, then I will have to make you calm down...permantly."

"No! Wait!" Snap begged her. He started to move towards her, holding his hand out as he limped. "Please, don't hurt him!"

"Stop right where you are!" Sandra shouted at Snap, her voice booming. This was enough to make Snap freeze, his wide eyes staring at her, silentl pleading with her. "Do not come any closer! This is between him and me, not you!" She glared at Snap, one red eye staring at him. "Take another step and I will take care of him now..."

Not caring to wait and see if Snap got the message, Sandra turned her attention back to Dr. Gelcro. She kept her grip on his jaw as his head jerked from side to side. A few whimpers escaped his throat as he tried to open his mouth. She reached down and grabbed him on the back of his head, pulling at his scruff roughly. His body stiffened on instinct.

"So..what's it going to be?" Sandra asked, her glare boring through the husky's mind as she stared at him in the eyes. "Are you going to walk away quietly, or are you going to continue to fight me? I promise I will make your end come swiftly if you continue resisting me."

Dr. Gelcro stared up at her for a few seconds. He then nodded his head slowly. Sandra took this as him reaching an understanding. She gave him a small smile and she released her grip on him slowly. She took a step back, watching him as he climbed up to his feet.

"Okay, you may exit anyway you.." Sandra didn't get a chance to finish. Without warning, Dr. Gelcro turned on her and took off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Dr. Gelcro never answered her. With a loud snarl, he jumped at her. Unable to get out of the way in time, Sandra let out a scream as she felt his razor sharp teeth sink into her shoulder. She was knocked against the wall, her shoulder radiating in pain as Dr. Gelcro tore into it.

"You fool!" Sandra cried, her voice tinged with pain. "I gave you a warning and this is how you react to it?!"

Dr. Gelcro didn't answer her. He started to tear up her shoulder more, blood flowing from it. Sandra hissed and yowled in pain, her tail wriggling around. Okay then, if this was the way he wanted to play it, fine. She warned him, and he chose to ignore it. It will be his own damn fault for what was about to happen next.

Sandra lifted up her foot and she kicked him in the stomach. Her claws raked across it, leaving behind bloody gashes. Dr. Gelcro let out a whimper as he staggered back. She let out a scream as she felt him tear off a piece of her shoulder. She looked at it. Anger boiled in her blood. How dare he... Yes true..she could just heal herself. But still...

Dr. Gelcro came back. He knocked against her, pushing her against the wall. He then grabbed her by the arm and tossed her into the ground. Sandra looked up, watching as the crazed dog zoner rushed at her, mouth split open.

Before she knew it, a massive weight hit against her. She let out a grunt as she felt his feet hit against her stomach. He snarled at her before opeining his mouth wider and he clamped them down around her throat. Sandra's eyes bulged and she began to struggle on the ground, kicking her legs wildly. She could feel the teeth begin to sink into her neck, and for a moment, she felt the same fear that Rudy had just a little while earlier.

"Stop! Dr. Gelcro, please don't kill her!"

The two zoners froze at this. They turned their eyes over, noticing a frantic and frightened Snap standing there.

Snap looked at Dr. Gelcro, his eyes wide in desperation. "You aren't going to be any better than her if you kill her, Dr. Gelcro! Please stop! I know you're better than her!"

Dr. Gelcro's grip on her loosened. His jaw was still arond her neck, but she was no longer choking. She looked up at him, noticing that he wasn't trying to do anything. It would seem that he was confused, torn between two choices. She decided to take advantage of the situation.

With Dr. Gelcro distracted thanks to Snap, she was able to slip her tail over unnoticed. She quickly wrapped it around the husky's leg. His eyes shifted down at her, realizing what was about to happen. Before he could bite down harder in defense, she thrust him away from her, knocking him against the wall. She hopped up to her feet and, as the husky came after her, she held out her hand, activating her powers on him.

Dr. Gelcro's eyes widened and he let out a loud whimper as he collapsed back into the ground. She watched as he hit the ground in a thud. He curled himself into a fetal position, gripping his head tightly. She narrowed her eyes and twisted her hand, causing him to begin thrashing on the ground wildly, crying in pain and agony.

"Sandra! Stop this!" Snap limped towards her. "Please!"

"Stay out of this, Snap!" Sandra warned him.

Snap ignored her words. He kept coming closer. Soon she could feel him grab onto her arm, tugging at her. He looked up at her pleadingly. "Stop hurting him! He was just trying to help me!"

Sandra flattened her ears as she struck Snap with her tail. "I said stay out of it!" She shouted at him as he tumbled across the ground. She watched him as he looked up at her, his eyes wide in fear and desperation. She glared at him for a few seconds, giving him a silent warning to stay back. She then turned her attention back to Dr. Gelcro. "Now as for you..."

Sandra spoke no more. Her eyes narrowing, her blood heating up more, she increased her power usage against the zoner who had dared try to stop her. She watched silently, almost emotionless save for her anger, as she twisted him up inside. She was slowly detaching his blood vessels, and she could see the results in his eyes.

After a few moments, the dog zoner began to convulse on the ground. His body trembled in great pain. She did not let up. She had given him his warning, and he chose to ignore it. She could not be blamed for this. She continued to rip him apart internally, watching as several spots began to turn dark purple from the intenral bleeding. Dr. Gelcro turned his head from side to side, letting out multiple loud cries.

Then finally he collapsed. He stopped moving almost entirely, save for a few twitches here or there. He let out a few moans as he looked up at her pitifully. She just smiled at him, knowing that he was finally paying the price for his actions. She began to twist her hand the other way, deciding it was best to end his pain now instead of prolonging it.

Then, just as she was about to make her final move on him, she felt something hit against her back. She grunted and stepped forward due to the force. She didn't have long to think about what happened when someone grabbed onto her ears and pulled on them hard.

"Release him now!" It was Snap. "Stop this!"

Sandra felt her head being pulled back as Snap yanked on her ears. The pain in her torn one increased as Snap pulled on it, gripping it tightly. She released her hold on Dr. Gelcro. She began to stumble away from the whimpering canine zoner as she struggled to grab Snap.

She soon managed to grab him and she began to pull on him. Snap responded by wrapping his legs around her body and securing himself there. As she pulled, she ended up pulling herself with him. She growled in frustration, unable to believe that Snap was going to make things this complicated and rough for her. She had hoped that he would listen to her warning, but he had deliberately ignored it. Well then, if he was going to act this way, then she would need to use some more force with him.

Sandra jerked herself from side to side, bucking left and right. She tried to make Snap dislodge and fall off. He still held onto her tightly, his grip like a vice. He pulled on her ears more, almost as if he were trying to guide her somewhere. Her legs wobbled around, her tail swishing back and forth violently. She pulled on him harder, but ended up yanking on her ear harder. This made her stiffen up, her mouth emitting a screech.

That's it. She's had enough. She was going to get Snap off, and she was going to do it now. He was being unbelievable, absolutely unreasonable. She had to stop him before he did anything he was going to regret.

The blue dragon turned around so that her back was facing the wall of the tunnel. Then, as hard as she could, she began to slam it against the hard surface. She hard Snap cry out each time. She did this again and again. She listened to Snap's grunts, his hisses of pain. She hated doing this to him, but he had left her with no choice. She didn't stop until she felt him loosen his grip. Then she tightened her grip and she slammed him into the ground.

Sandra stared at him for a few moments, watching him as he groaned in pain. She didn't give him too long to recover. She immediately shot her foot forward, wrapping her talons around his neck. Snap let out a cry at this. She lifted him up and immediately slammed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. She kept him pressed against the wall, applying pressure to make sure he couldn't shake himself loose that easily.

Snap began to struggle. He pushed against her leg, kicking his own desperately. He gritted his teeth as he turned his head from side to side. He managed to hit her a few times, but she ignored them. She was not going to let go of him, not yet.

Sandra put her face close to his and said, "I'm trying to be reasonable with you, Snap." She hissed in pain as she felt her torn ear ache. "But you just have to make things difficult, don't you? Geez, I would have thought Rudy had drawn you with some common sense."

Snap's eyes widened at that comment, then they narrowed. "Don't you dare bring him into this, you bitch..."

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "Watch your mouth!"

"Why should I? It's not like you ever listened to anyone! You're too busy, strung up in your own little world, that you fail to realize what's going on, or just how people would really view you! Do you think anyone is going to side with you when they find out what you have done?! Do you think that the zoners who lost their loved ones because of you are going to look upon you kindly?" Snap's voice was firm. Never once did he falter or stutter. "You have gotten away with your atrocities for far too long, Sandra! It's about time someone did something about them!"

Sandra growled at this. She slammed against him, making him let out another pained cry. "You need to learn to stop being so narrow minded! All I did was try to help you better yourself! You helped me, so now I want to help you! But you won't listen to me! Even after I explain, you still ignore my words!"

Snap shook his head the best he could at this. Sandra went quiet and waited for him to speak. "I am not. I heard every word you said. It's just that what I hear disgusts me." Sandra widened her eyes at this. "You think that you were doing the right thing, but all you did was betray me. You hurt me and plotted behind my back. You murdered innocent zoners, some of which you decided to turn into food. How...how can I trust you..." Snap shut his eyes for a second, letting tears escape. He looked at her with an expression of heartbreak. "...when you are the source of the pain and misery that had gripped the city?"

Sandra stared at Snap when he said this. Her mind began to race. For a short few seconds, she began to question her actions. Her heart twisted as she saw just how hurt Snap was. She..she hadn't meant for him to feel this way. She hadn't meant for him to feel betrayed and crushed like this. She had only done what she believed to be the right thing.

But that guilt was fleeting. She reminded herself that Snap was the one who brought this upon himself. He has to learn that life can be rough at times. He needed to learn his lesson. If he didn't want to get punished, then he shouldn't have committed the crime against her.

"I see..." Sandra said softly. "I'm...sorry you feel that way. I..."

Snap cut her off. "No you're not sorry! You never were!" His voice raised in volume after a couple seconds. Sandra narrowed her eyes. She tried to speak up, but Snap wasn't finished yet. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't have hurt me! You wouldn't have tormented me like you had been the past several weeks! If you cared about me at all, you would have stepped down from your promise and just talk to me!"

Sandra raised her ears, her eyes widening in shock. Did..did Snap just suggest that she break one of her own promises? Was he insane? He should know that she could never do that. She growled at him, angered that he would dare suggest such a thing.

Snap noticed her anger. "Look I know you are obsessed with these promises, but you can't just keep hiding behind them like some kind of excuse! Sometimes promises can be broken. We could have worked things out, Sandra. If you had just told me up front that you were upset with me, I could have tried to help you." He paused for a moment. "Although now I'm not sure if I would even do that, knowing what you have been doing with zoners..." He shuddered, looking at Sandra with wide eyes. "Just..how could you do that?"

Sandra cocked an eyebrow. "How could I what?"

"How can you kill a zoner and feed their meat to other zoners?" Snap spoke in a shaky voice. He looked from side to side. "I just..don't know how anyone could..." He licked his lips nervously, swallowing. He stared at her, wide-eyed. "How do you sleep at night...?"

"Quite well, thank you." Sandra said. Her tone was a bit more bitter than she had intended. "I think it is an honor to eat the flesh of a loved one." Snap gasped at this. Sandra smiled, realizing that he simply didn't understand. "Don't you see? That's the highest level of respect you can give a friend. Let them eat your meat."

"You're disgusting..." Snap managed to say. He made a few sounds, suggesting that he was holding back the urge to vomit. Just barely. "How can you think like that..?"

"It's simple logic, really." Sandra said. "Of course, you have to be willing to listen and see reason. I see you are too clouded to really see my point of view."

Snap's struggles increased. "You're absolutely bananas!"

Sandra shook her head at this. It was frustrating that Snap still didn't see things her way. Why couldn't he try to understand? Why couldn't he listen to her? Why did he have to be so difficult? Oh well... There was nothing she could do about that. She did the best she could.

"Snap... I just wish you would understand. Don't you know how much trust it takes to let someone eat you in times of need? What a noble sacrifice..." She spread her arms out at this. "And besides, I was doing some of those zoners favors. Being trapped in a hospital for a long time, even forever, is a much worse fate than being eaten. I was being merciful."

Snap gripped her foot and pushed on her. "Those...zoners had loved..ones..." He said through gritted teeth. "And you...took them away..."

Sandra nodded her head once. "But I gave them back." She raised a finger up. "Their loved ones are now a part of them. A perfect way to reunite someone, wouldn't you agree?" Snap wretched at this. "Oh come now, it's not bad really." She tilted her head to one side. "Eat a loved one and they become a part of you...forever."

"How can you..." Snap started to say.

Sandra cut him off. "You should understand this quite well, Snap. After all, you enaged in it. You experienced it. You are not suffering any backlash. Now you are truly unified with someone that you know."

Snap looked at her in horror, taking in a sharp breath. "Wh-What do you mean..?"

Sandra chuckled at this. She wasn't surprised that he didn't know. She hadn't told him about using sentient zoner meat in her recipes. She might as well tell him now, since she brought it up. Perhaps if she told him, and he realized that he hadn't been harmed by it, he would relax and become more comfortable. He had enjoyed the taste, after all.

Sandra smiled gently at him. "Remember when you came over to my restaurant for breakfast? The eggs and bacon?" Snap opened his mouth, and then shut it. He nodded his head once, his eyes filling with dreadful anticipation. "Well have you ever wondered what I made the bacon out of?"

Snap shook his head. "N-No... I just assumed it was..."

"It wasn't turkey bacon." Sandra said. "I made the meat from that one zoner..the puppet one... Oh what was his name...?" She rubbed her cheek as she tried to place the name. "Oh yes!" She pointed a finger up as she recalled the identity of the zoner. "I do believe his name was Howdy."

Snap's eyes bulged wide at this. "H-H-Howdy...?"

Sandra nodded her head. "Yes. Howdy. You ate Howdy."

Snap swallowed shakingly, lowering his head as his body shook. He struggled to keep himself from throwing up. She could tell he was having a hard time. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. What a disrespectful display... Snap should show more respect towards his friend for sacrificing his life to be a part of him.

"Now now, calm down." Sandra said as Snap struggled to keep himself from crying. He looked so traumatized and shaken, his skin going paler than it already was. "Howdy is with you now. He flows through your veins. He is never going to leave you." She reached down at touched Snap's cheek. "You should feel proud to have him as a part of you. Not everyone is so lucky."

Snap looked at her, wide-eyed, before he snarled and slapped her hand away. He seethed at her, kicking at her with more force. Sandra stared at him, watching him as it looked as though his blood was going to boil over.

"How can I feel proud of eating Howdy?! That's sick and disgusting! I can't believe you did that to me! How could you be so disgusting?! I met a lot of villains in my short life, and you are the absolute worst! Even Skrawl is better than you!"

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "Don't compare me to him, Snap. You know that he doesn't care about anyone but himself. I'm not like that."

"Sure you're not! That's why you killed countless zoners to feed customers in your freakshow of a restaurant!" Snap barked at her. "You kill one of my friends and feed them to me and you expect me to like it! You expect everyone to like it! I don't know how you got so messed up in the head, Sandra. But you need a wake up call! Nobody is going to like you after this! Nobody is going to give you a second chance! They will all label you as a monster!"

Sandra bared her teeth. "How can you be so sure?"

"Of course you'd ask that. You can't seem to comprehend this. I have no idea what happened in your creation time, Sandra, but you act like you got hit in the head and then sat under a rock for the past twenty years! You can't even grasp the concept of what love and companionship actually are! If you did, then you would know just how demented your plans really are!"

Sandra glared at Snap. "So you're saying I'm retarded?!"

Snap shook his head. "I'm just saying you are messed up. I don't know if anyone can help you. Something is wrong with the way your brain functions. You are a menace to society and you need to get locked up."

Sandra felt her heart twist at that statement. She couldn't believe Snap would say something like that to her. "I am no menace..." Her voice was low, a hiss that wafered in the air. "I help ChalkZone. If anything, I'm doing more good than anyone else has."

"How?" Snap asked. "Name one thing."

"Removing dangerous zoners, like the Doofi." Sandra said as-a-matter-of-factly. Seeing Snap's expression, she said, "They were obviously too dangerous to be around. Especially Doofus Rudy. They were so astronomically stupid that they would have brought down the entire city if they weren't stopped. Now they will serve a better purpose. They can help ChalkZone by letting the citizens eat them."

"Unbelievable..." Snap uttered under his breath. "You're an even bigger monster than I had imagined..."

Sandra snarled at this. "How can you say that?!" She cried in disbelief.

Snap narrowed his eyes at her. "You are the one who has been killing zoners like they're some kind of wild game. You are the one who had made loved ones eat loved ones. You fed me Howdy..." He shuddered at the memory, his face contorting in disgust. "You then tormented me for days, turning most of ChalkZone City against me, and all for what? Teaching me a lesson? I never thought you could be so cruel, Sandra. I thought you were my friend..."

"I am your friend! That's why I had to hurt you! To me you see! To make you understand!" Sandra cried. "I was only trying to make you in a better person!"

Snap shook his head at this. "Better person...? I don't believe you." He stared at her, locking eyes with her. "If you wanted to help me, then you would have foregoed your stupid promise and confront me directly, instead of hiding behind a promise like some coward."

Sandra widened her eyse at this. She growled at Snap, seething at the mere thought of Snap insulting the sanctity of a promise. She tightened her grip on him, flashing her teeth at him. "Watch your tongue..."

Snap looked a little startled by this, but he continued anyway.

"I was only friends with you because I thought you actually cared about me. But now I see you for what you really are. A despicable person.. a coward that hides behind lame promises. A creepazoid who needs to be sent to jail for all the crimes you commited against ChalkZone. The zoners deserve closure, and they will only get that when you are safely behind bars, away from the zoners so you can't hurt anyone ever again. You're a monster, and I can't believe I actually liked you!"

Snap paused for a moment, catching his breath. He lowered his head, his eyes closed. His expression softened up. Though anger was clearly present, there was some other emotion there. Sandra could not identify it.

"You will never understand...how much you hurt me, Sandra. You will never understand what I have gone through... I know you don't even care. If you liked me, then you wouldn't have hurt me... But I see where your loyalties lie. You care only for yourself. Damn everyone else, am I right?"

Sandra shook her head. "No..."

Snap gave a bitter smile at this. "Sure... Why should I believe you?" He shook his head slowly. "You have given me little reason to believe anything you say. You aren't my friend, Sandra. You're my enemy, a criminal. And I am going to deal with you like I deal with all other criminals I encounter: I am going to get you locked up."

Sandra growled. "Stop speaking such nonsense..." She took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Look, I promise that..."

"Keep your fucking promises to yourself!" Snap snarled at her. "I want no part of them! Not after the way you used them to make my life a living hell!" His body trembled in anger. "I hate you, Sandra! I fucking hate you! If I had known that you were going to do something like this, I would have broken my promise to help you! I don't help murderers!"

Sandra growled at this. She felt a surge of anger rush through her body, making her blood heat up. She tossed Snap into the ground. The small zoner let out a cry of pain as he hit the ground painfully. Sandra took on a stalking-like stance, her tail raising up into the air. She bared her teeth at Snap, her lips curling up, making it easy for him to see her gums.

"Don't you dare insult the promise, Snap..." Sandra warned.

"Oh to hell with your promises!" Snap pushed himself onto his hands. "You think you have the right to punish people for breaking promises?! You think that you were in the right when you punished Rudy?! Well let me tell you something, Sandra! It is you, not him, that disgraced the promise! You are the one who poisoned and corrupted what a promise was, using it to your own ends! You are the one who polluted the purity of the promise, as you would say! You twisted the concept of a promise, tainting it with your twisted mind, so you could get away with murder! You are a vile fiend and you give a bad name to promises everywhere!"

At this, something broke inside Sandra. Her body froze, eyes widened. She felt her mind go numb, unable to process what she just heard. She stared at Snap in absolute shock, unable to believe what he said. She felt her mind swirling, aching, as thoughts raced through, her heart pounding against her chest.

Then came the emotion. A torrent of negate energy began to rise up inside of her, twisting her guts. She felt her body start to tremble, unable to stop. She could feel her blood heat up, rapidly reaching its boiling point. She could feel her vision start to cloud, almost turning red as anger swept through her body.

How dare he... How dare Snap say such things.. How dare he accuse her like that.. How could he do something so cruel to her..? How could he do this...?

She couldn't take it anymore. The emotion swelling up inside became too much for her to handle. She could feel it leaking out of her body, dripping down in the form of sweat. Her quaking increased, her teeth gnashing together. She let out a series of growls as she locked eyes onto Snap, her pupils turning into slits.

"You... miscsreant!" She boomed before breaking off into a charge at Snap.

The superhero zoner waved his hand out in front of him, his other still supporting his body. "No! Wait! I-I didn't..!"

Sandra would have none of it. In a blind rage, she struck against him as soon as she reached him, her fist slamming against his jaw, ending him crashing against the wall. She listened to him groan for a second before slamming her foot against him, causing him to again hit the wall with great force. She felt some level of satisfaction when she heard one of his ribs crack.

She then seized him with her jaws, her teeth sinking into his arm. He let out a series of screams and pleads, struggling. She shook him hard, shredding up his flesh, blood dripping down her face and his arm. She then tossed him as hard as she could, letting him skid across the ground.

As she stared at him, she felt that sense of happiness that she did earlier, back closer to the beginning of all of this. At the time, she had felt bad about liking to hurt Snap.

But this time, she was starting to enjoy it...

Her mouth ticked into a sadistic grin. She spoke, her voice scratchy and growly. "Don't worry, Snap. I still care about you. I will make you a part of me. Such an honor..."

"No..please.." Snap cried in horror. He got up to his feet and started to limp away from her.

Sandra narrowed her eyes. Oh no he doesn't... He won't get away from her that easily. Fueled by her rage and determination, Sandra charged towards him, her arms spreading out at her sides. After a few seconds, she jumped into the air...

..and she stayed aloft.

It took her only seconds to reach Snap. She zipped out in front of him. Snap looked up at her in horror, letting out a scream as she struck out with her feet. Her sharp talons slashed in the air, narrowingly missing him as he jumped back. Snap backed away from her, taking in quick breaths as he stared at her with eyes wide in fear, panic, and disbelief.

"Y-You can f-f-fly...?!" Snap cried.

Sandra laughed evilly at this. "Surprised?! I should hope so! Now come here!" She spread her talons, the sharp tips glinting in the light. "Let me send you on a journey that you will never forget!"

Sandra dove down towards him. Snap screamed and rushed pashed her. Sandra hissed as her claws missed him. She turned herself around, opening her jaws and letting out a roar. She rushed back towards him, flapping her arm wings harder. She picked up the speed, moving through the air like an aerodynamic bullet. When she got close enough, she grabbed onto Snap, her claws digging into his sides. She yanked him off the ground and began to carry him down through the tunnel, flying blindly in rage.


	38. Public Confession

Somebody, tell me, what made us all believe you? I should have known all along it was all a lie!

-Lies, Evanescence

sss

"N-No! Stop this! Please let me go!" Snap screeched. "I-I'm sorry!"

"Far too late for that, dear friend!" Sandra shouted at him, that insane look still plastered over her elongated face. "Time to have some fun!"

Snap felt his heart pound against his chest. He struggled frantically, trying to get loose. He twisted his body from side to side, but his efforts were in vain. He winced as he felt the sharp claws dig further into his side. He could feel warm liquid leak down. The more he struggled, the deeper the claws went.

"Are you enjoying your flight?! Please say yes!" Sandra sneered at him.

Snap didn't answer. He gave a shudder as he heard her voice, sending ice through his heart. She didn't sound like her normal self. Her voice had become high pitched and growly, almost as if she were excited about something. She always had a disturbed look on her face now, her pupils shrunk into dots, a nasty grin pulling against the lips of her mouth... It was a terrifying sight to behold.

Snap wished he had been more careful when he spoke to Sandra earlier. He wished that he had stifled himself and hold back on the things he said. He wished he had been more strategy-oriented and planned this all out better. Now it seemed like he was going to pay the price.

He had angered Sandra beyond reasoning. It was clear that mere words weren't going to stop her this time. She was out for blood. She wasn't looking where she was going. She was just flying, keeping him in her talons. He had no idea exactly what she was going to do to him specifically, but he knew that it was going to result in his death.

"I will make you a part of me."

Those words echoed in his head, chilling him to the bone. Even if she didn't outright state it, he knew exactly what it meant, what that entailed. He couldn't stop his heart rate from speeding up. With a slight quiver of his lip, he renewed his struggling despite how much it hurt his side.

Sandra continued to fly him down the hallway. He could hear the flap of her arm wings, the low growl eminating from her throat. They were going at incredible speed. He realized that this was how Sandra was able to get to them so quickly. The fact that she could fly changed everything. He was still horrified by the discovery, as never before had Sandra indicated she was capable of doing this.

His thoughts were interrupted when Sandra moved towards one of the walls. She lowered her head, grinning at him upside down. Snap felt his heart skip a beat, knowing that this wasn't going to end well. Before he had time to contemplate what the dragon zoner was going to do, he felt himself being thrust against the wall. Sandra outstretched her body in a diagonal fashion and channeled all her strength into a powerful slam against the wall of the tunnel.

Snap shut his eyes, letting out a scream of pain. He felt relief when Sandra pulled him away, but it was short-lived. She soon slammed him again against the wall, making him cry out in agony. She did it a third time, this time making sure she hit his face against the hard surface. Snap let out a few whimpers as he was pulled back.

For a few seconds, Sandra just flew down the tunnel, and it almost looked as if she had decided to stop hitting him against the wall. He was quickly proven wrong when Sandra went over to the other side and pushed him against the wall again. This time, she kept him there, pushing as hard as she could as she continued to fly. Snap screamed as his face was scraped up, and it soon got to the point where he could see a blood smear forming on the wall. By the time Sandra stopped pushing, there was a blood smear about two feet long on the wall.

"Please stop this!" Snap begged her.

Sandra just sneered at him, "Oh no, Snap! I'm not done yet!" She lowered her head again, twisting it around to make it right side up. She chuckled at Snap. "You haven't even seen the grand finale yet!"

"I-I don't want to..." Snap whimpered.

"You don't?" Sandra feigned shock. "Well that's just too bad!"

Snap stared at Sandra in the eyes, seeing the depths of her insanity unfolding before him. He gritted his teeth, shuddering. Never before had he ever been so scared and frightened. Never before had he been this afraid of an enemy. Sandra made even the then-crazed Mint look tame. There was clear intent to harm in those eyes, and the expression alone showed she was willing to do it by any means necessary.

Sandra increased her speed, giving an insane laugh. She twisted her body around and then dove towards the wall. She smashed Snap's full body against it, her feet crushing up against his spine. She did this again and again, laughing insanely as Snap let out cries of pain and agony.

Then she flew to the other side. Just like she had before, she pressed him against the wall and continued flying, scraping his body against the hard, rough surface. This time, it was the back of his head that she targeted. He let out a cry of pain as he felt his skull hit against the wall. Sandra put her foot over his face and pushed his head against the wall as she flew, creating another bloody smear from the shere force.

Pain snaked down his body and spine. Snap shut his eyes, tears flowing down his face. Sandra kept this up for longer than the first time, pushing down harder. He could feel his scalp tear apart at the seams. The agony making it too much for him, Snap, out of desperation, fought back.

He bit down onto Sandra's toe. Sandra's eyes bulged and she let out a loud scream. She tried to pull her foot back, but Snap just tightened his grip on her foot, sinking his teeth into her. He increased his bite, trying his best to deter her from what she was doing. It eventually worked and she yanked her foot back, but not before Snap inadvertantly tore off a small piece of flesh. He immediately spat it out, tasting her foul blood in his mouth.

"I see you are about me too! Why else would you try to make me part of you?!" Sandra called out. Her eyes were bulging in anger, but her mouth was still ticked in that chaotic smile of hers. "Too bad I called you first! Don't disappoint me, Snap! Don't taint our friendship by stealing my task!"

Snap felt disgusted by this. His face contorted, a corner of his lip pulling up. "I don't want to eat you!"

Sandra's eyes bulged at this, and her teeth became more exposed. Snap gulped, widening his eyes. He had a feeling he just made a big mistake.

"You don't want to eat me?! Am I not good enough for you?! Are you so high and mighty that you won't eat my flesh?! Do I disgust you, little boy?!" Sandra's voice became even more high pitched and growly, if that were even possible. Her eyes filled with more insanity and she pressed all six of her claws against his sides. Snap screamed as he felt them tear deeply into his meat. "Perhaps I can change your mind!"

Snap screamed and writhed as the claws cracked more of his ribs. He twisted himself from side to side. "Please let me go! Stop hurting me! Please!" Tears flowed down his face as he looked up at Sandra. But she did relent, her expression never changing. "P-Please..."

Sandra suddenly stopped, hovering above the ground. She glared down at Snap, her eyes narrowed into slits. Snap remained quiet, not daring to speak. Even the taste of Sandra's blood left him as he was frozen in fear, wondering what she was going to do next.

He wanted to plead with her to let him go. He wanted to say something to try to make her see reasoning, to understand why what she was doing was wrong. He wanted to calm her down and bring her back towards a more rational mind state. But what could he do right now? Sandra was not going to listen to him. Not in this state. The only thing that would calm her down was his own bloodshed.

Sandra suddenly tossed him into the air. Snap let out a scream as he twirled around. Sandra watched him before diving towards him. He grunted as he felt her mouth hit against his chest and stomach, sending him flying through the air. Sandra flew faster, coming around behind him. She struck him with her tail before he even had a chance to land. Then she flew above him and dove down towards him. She latched onto him, her talons wrapping around his leg.

Snap let out a grunt at the sudden stop. His body ached all over and he dare not move save for some shivering. His mind raced with many thoughts, tears staining his cheeks. He looked up at Sandra, whimpering softly as he stared into her crazed, dark-filled eyes. He looked for any signs of mercy there, and he found none.

Sandra raised him into the air, giving another throw of him. Snap twirled around in the air and fell down towards the ground headfirst. Sandra snagged him only seconds before his head could collide into the ground. She raised him up, growling at him, before she pulled her leg back and tossed him as hard as she could through the air. This time, she did not attempt to catch up, and Snap found himself crashing into the ground at full force.

Upon impact, he heard a loud crack. His eyes bulged and he gripped his arm to himself. He let out a scream of agony, his head echoing with the cracking of his own arm bone. The pain spread across his arm, intensifying as the seconds passed.

Soon he just laid there, quivering in pain, sobs escaping his throat. He tried to get back up to his feet, but a sudden wave of severe pain spread through his body, concentrating on his sides. His eyes bulged and he let out another scream, dropping back down to the ground. Trembling, he lifted up his head and turned his tear-stained face towards where Sandra was.

She was back on the ground, her shoulders hunched, her forehead triangle glowing brighter than before. A twisted smile was on her face, intermixed in rage. She slowly walked towards him, her claw tips tapping against the ground.

Snap felt his insides being torn apart. Something was bulging at his sides, feeling it rippling through his skin. He writhed on the ground, curling into a fetal position as he tried in desperation to cope with the intense pain. He clenched his teeth tightly, seething. The pain..oh gawd the pain... Why won't Sandra stop this...? Why won't she leave him alone..? Why can't she see how much this was hurting me...? He looked at her with tear stained eyes, letting out a series of loud whimpers from his throat.

He screamed as a growth began to tear through his sides. He couldn't stop screaming as he was slowly ripped up from the inside out. The growths bulged through, breaking skin, making the wounds on his side even bigger than before. He felt himself bleeding heavily, and he continuously thrashed on the ground.

Suddenly one of his side wounds stopped bleeding. He looked up at Sandra in confusion. She formed a small fist with her hand, turning it around as she adjusted her powers. Her facial expression finally softened up, but it was barely a tad, and she was still in a rage mode.

"I can't have you dying yet." Sandra spoke, her voice a little calmer than before. "I'm not done with you."

Snap let out a pained cough as he laid on the ground. He pressed his hand against his side, staring at Sandra in desperation. "Stop this..please... I'm so sorry about what I said..." He sniffled tearfully. He would try to escape if he could, but Sandra's grip on him rendered him in too much pain. "Please...stop..." He begged her.

Sandra didn't answer except with a low hiss. Snap tried to struggle. He tried to get away, despite his pain. Sandra's eyes flashed and his leg suddenly began to bulge as well. Letting out a loud scream of agony, Snap froze, his body quivering violently. All he could do was watch as Sandra approached him slowly, the sneer growing ever creepier and more deranged as she got closer to him.

Soon Sandra was kneeling right before him. Snap stared at her, whimpering, unable to turn away. His heart pounded against his chest, tears flowing down his face. He took in shaky, trembling breaths, his lower lip quivering. He let out a scream as Sandra reached towards him. He squirmed and writhed, but he wasn't able to stop her from grabbing onto his head.

Then she turned her head away. Snap looked at her in confusion. She opened her jaws wide and she bit down on her arm, shocking Snap. She let out her own pained cries as she tore at her own flesh, ripping off a small piece. She then turned to Snap, her muzzle stained in a mixture of her and Snap's blood. Snap wasn't sure why Sandra would try to eat herself, and he didn't want to find out.

Unfortunately, he found out what she planned, and not in the way he had ever wanted.

With a forceful thrust, she smashed her lips against Snap's. This was enough to make him widen his eyes and let out muffled cries, struggling harder. She held him down, gripping his shoulders tightly. She then used her tongue to force the piece of flesh into his mouth.

Snap gagged and choked, kicking his legs wildly. The horrible taste of flesh and blood filled his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but as Sandra leaned away from the twisted kiss, she used her hands to hold his jaws shut. He whimpered and cried, trying to turn his head away. He pushed and kicked at Sandra, ignoring his pain. But she would not let go. Soon, with a choked sob, Snap swallowed, feeling Sandra's flesh slide down his throat sickenly. Only then did Sandra let go, allowing Snap let out wretches and gags.

"How do I taste? Don't I taste good? I know you want to eat more of me..." Sandra said to him in a low voice. Snap looked at her in horror. "Just say the word, and I'll give you one more piece." She licked her lips. "You really should be happy to have such an honor. Only a real friend would eat the meat of another friend."

Snap shuddered and he shook his head slowly. "I-I don't want anymore..."

Sandra snarled at this, flattening her ears. "You dare reject my generous offer?! Okay then, little guy! Perhaps you need another lesson!" She jumped into the air, bringing forward her taloned feet. "Let me help you with that!"

Snap shook his head, waving his hand out in front of him. "No! Please!"

Sandra lunged forward. She gripped Snap by his broken arm and lifted him above the ground. He let out a bloodcurdling scream. She then took off again, this time making sure to constantly bang him against the wall as she flew. His arm twisted and he heard more cracks, each one nearly bringing him into unconsciousness. Agony swept through his body, squeezing him in its tight fist, refusing to let go.

"Trust me, Snap! You will see things my way sooner or later!" Sandra's growly, boomy voice echoed in his head. She picked up the pace, flapping her arm wings harder.

All Snap could do was look at Sandra in horror. He knew that, even if he survived this, the scars of this moment would stay with him for a long time.

sss

"Are you absolutely sure? Are you okay with this?" Penny asked.

The zoner nodded his head affirmatively. He gave Penny a soft smile. "Yeah I am. I don't mind helping your friends out."

"Same here." Said another male zoner. He was a little thinner and shorter than the first guy. "We'll help take them to wherever they need to go in ChalkZone so they can get back into the Real World."

"I can help..." Penny started to say.

"No..." The giraffe officer from before said. He placed a hand on Penny's shoulder. "We are going to need your help apprehending Sandra. Since Rudy's neck is broken and Mint's jaw dislocated, they're not in the best condition to fight her."

Penny was going to argue that Mint could probably stay as he could still draw even with a dislocated jaw. But she soon decided that perhaps the giraffe was right. The pain would be a deterrent, and it would leave him in a weaker state than her. Plus Sandra could make his injury worse...

She soon nodded her head. "Okay...I understand."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it." One of the two zoners said. He turned his attention to Mint and said, "Okay, let's get going..."

Penny watched as Mint and the zoner close enough to his height carried Rudy on the litterl, keeping his body as even as possible. The third guy, the shortest one, offered support from below. He went underneath and pushed up with his hands against the bottom, pushing against Rudy's back. He was careful not to jostle Rudy too much, knowing the delicacy of the situation.

It didn't take them long to leave out the door. A few of the zoners held the doors wide open as they left. Penny watched, unable to turn away. She bit her lip. She had wanted to go with them, but she knew she had to stay here. She may be required to help stop Sandra. She had no idea when she was going to appear, but she knew she had to be here waiting for her.

Her heart twisted as she recalled that Snap was still there. She wondered how he was doing. And Dr. Gelcro... What was happening with him? Mosaic and Ripclaw, too. Penny felt her mind race as she tried to think of just what could be happening to the others.

She really wanted to rush back in there and help them. But the giraffe cop discouraged this as he felt it might backfire tremendously. He thought that an ambush was better. Penny tried to tell him that Sandra could burst through without any warning or rhyme, but he ignored her. He was determined to go through with this plan, and nothing Penny said would deter him. Penny had a feeling that, at any moment, Sandra could prove him wrong.

But for now, she didn't try to disobey him, of only because he had just called for back up and that they'd be here soon. They were going to make sure they surrounded the restaurant, and even the underground tunnels will be explored, meaning that, this time, Sandra would have no chance of escape. This was the only turn of upcoming events that brought a smile to her face.

Soon, all this trouble, all this grief, was going to be over.

She heard a couple of gags, breaking her out of her thoughts. She turned her head and looked at the zoners around her. She bit her lip, feeling her heart twist. It seemed that some of the zoners hadn't fully recovered from the disgust from before.

A feline zoner was crying against a friend of hers.

A small zoner, presumably a child, was shaken, traumatized, and crying.

A group of friends were patting each other in comfort.

A male and female zoner hugged each other, shaking hard.

Several zoners were still throwing up, even after their stomachs were emptied and all that would come out was stomach acid. They were on their knees, holding their stomachs. Their wretching sounds echoed in the restaurant, matching the unnerved tension that gripped them all.

Penny would not blame them for still being shaken up. What they had just found out was no laughing matter. It couldn't be just shrugged off so easily. It was a horrific thing that they learned and she knew none of them would escape mentally unscathed. This was going to stay with them for a long time. Such a traumatizing experience, and she wished she could give them the answers they need to recover faster.

Penny could not begin to imagine how horrifying it was to discover that you just ate your best friend, or someone else you care about. No matter how good the food tasted, all of a sudden, it would become toxic, an unbearable aftertaste that they would not be able to get rid of. The mere thought of it made Penny hate Sandra for her actions even more. She couldn't fathom what could possess her to do something so terrible...

Not all the zoners were crying over that only. Looking at other parts of the restaurant, Penny could hear bits of conversations about another aspect of what was happening around here.

"I can't believe I..."

"We couldn't have known."

"Still, we could have given him a chance..."

"I know. I feel bad about it, too."

"I wish we could do something..."

Penny softened up her expression more as she stared at the group of zoners sympathetically. These were some of the several zoners present here that had been in that mob accusing Snap of being the murderer. Now that the truth came out, horror and dread had reached them, and was taking its time twisting around them, leaving them in a state of disbelief and shock.

Feelings of guilt seemed as though it was cascading through their bodies, refusing to leave them alone. Penny knew that they would continue to feel guilty for a long time, even after they had a chance to apologize to Snap, which she hoped they'd have a chance to do. They deserved a chance to make amends, and Snap deserved an apology. He needed to hear it, after all he had been put through.

Penny hoped that, after Sandra was arrested and sent to jail, that things would start to return to normal. She hoped that the zoners would recover from this traumatic experience and be able to move on. She hoped that this place would get torn down, or at least replaced with something actually beneficial for the zoners, something that would help them, not harm them like Sandra had been going. It was going to be rough, especially with all the mental scarring that evil dragon pulled, but she had a feeling that, if they worked hard enough, they could pull it off. They just had to try as hard they could. They could not allow Sandra to win, to get the last laugh, to rule over them like that. They would prove to her that her actions would no longer have a hold over ChalkZone, and she was going to learn what happens when you screw around with others the way she had.

Penny felt her body jerk when someone placed a hand on her shoulder. She swiveled around, expecting to see an enemy standing there. She relaxed, feeling a bit stupid, when she realized that it was only the giraffe zoner.

The giraffe said, "Sorry...I didn't mean to scare you." He pulled his hand away. "I have a bit of news to tell you."

Penny nodded her head. "Please proceed."

"I have recieved a report that my comrades are coming. They will be here shortly, a few minutes at least. They are coming armed and are authorized to shoot Sandra on sight." The giraffe said.

Penny widened her eyes at that. "They aren't going to kill her, right?"

At this, the giraffe tilted his head. "Why does it matter? She deserves to die, right?"

"It's not that. I just...I just feel that the zoners deserve some closure. I think keeping her alive and sending her into trial would be better." Penny explained the best that she could. She hoped that the giraffe cop would understand what she was trying to say. "I'm not saying let her off the hook or anything. Far from it. But I feel the zoners would feel better if she were sent to jail, where she could rot knowing what she had done to get there."

The tall giraffe zoner pondered this, rubbing his chin. Then he looked back down at her and said, "I do see your point there." He pulled out his walkie talkie. "I'll inform them of the new developments."

"Do they have a stun option?" Penny asked, raising a finger. At this, the giraffe nodded his head once. "Tell them to use that." She paused for a moment, then she said, "Tell them to use that."

The giraffe zoner nodded his head. "Okay. Thanks for the suggestion."

Penny watched as the giraffe zoner got back on the walkie talkie to give his men the new orders. But whether or not they will listen... She wasn't sure. She hoped the policemen would have the common sense not to kill Sandra. Otherwise, she would not be able to pay full retribution for her actions. She wouldn't get the full impact of karma in her face that she truly deserves. And the zoners...they would not get the closure that they all needed. They needed a trial to attend to. Many of them deserved a voice to use to speak out against Sandra for her atrocities. She hoped they would get that chance.

Suddenly, her body stiffened up. She could hear something from the back of the restaurant. Echoey, faint, and it was coming closer. She turned her head towards the back door that lead down that horrible tunnel. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was a scream.

Snap's scream.

Her eyes bulged at this. She heard a few soft murmurs. She looked left and right, noting the zoners' worried expressions. They, too, had heard the scream and were wondering what was going on. But they all knew it could only be one thing: Snap was getting hurt.

Then there were shouts. Cries and statements, but at the moment, none of them could figure out what it was. The zoners exchanged worried and nervous glances with one another. Penny didn't look at them much, instead focusing most of her attention on the door in the dark hallway. She bit her lip, her heart twisting. Snap was in trouble... She had to help him.

She tried to move forward, but she felt someone grab her. She turned her head and saw it was, again, the giraffe zoner. She narrowed her eyes and jerked her arm away.

"Let go! I need to help him!" Penny pulled on her arm harder. Despite what the giraffe zoner said before, that became mere background noise for her as she listened to her friend's screaming pain. "He needs me!"

"I know that you only want to help your friend out. I respect that. But you can't rush in there all willy nilly." The giraffe zoner said. "You need a plan."

"But..." Penny started to say. "You have to undertand, I..."

"I do understand. But trust me, Penny. You're better off waiting here." The giraffe zoner said. "I don't want you getting hurt as well. Plus back up is coming soon. And from the sound of it..." He turned his head towards the back door. "..she is coming this way. We can cut her off here."

Penny wanted to protest more, but she settled herself down. She knew that she would accomplish nothing if she were too angered and frustrated. A panicked mind would not be able to pull off much. And the giraffe cop was right. Sandra was rushing in this direction. The screams were getting closer. If they could just position themselves just right, they could ambush her and subdue her before she had a chance to do much.

Penny felt some relief in that regard. She reminded herself that there a ton of zoners here. Even if Sandra managed to get here before the cops did, she still had to contend with a ton of angered zoners that she had wronged. They would not let her get away, that's for sure. They would ensure that she would quickly be sorry for what she had done.

Suddenly, without warning, there was a loud bang. Everyone froze, their bodies stiffening. A few let out a surprised cry. Penny instantly took out her magic chalk, bringing it forward in preparation to defend herself. With a rush of air, and a screech, everyone watched as Sandra and Snap burst into the restaurant.

Penny put her hand to her mouth as she saw Snap being held up by a lopsided arm that she could tell had been broken. "Snap!" She cried in horror.

Snap looked absolutely horrible. His head was lopped to one side, though he did not appear unconscious; his body was squirming weakly. He was covered in scrapes. His head and face were bloody. His body looked badly bruised, as if he had been slammed multiple times. His clothes were torn, his sides had holds in them, fleshy growths peaking out, revealing part of what Sandra had done to him.

Poor Snap... Penny felt tears well up in her eyes. What...what had he done to deserve that...? She watched, horror clinging to her like an icy grip, as Sandra flew around the restaurant, noticeably uncaring that she had witnesses. That didn't stop her from slamming Snap into the ground.

"Snap! No!" Penny cried out again. Without warning, Penny took off after them.

The giraffe zoner widened his eyes at this. "Wait! Penny! Stop! Get back here!"

Penny ignored him. She rushed past the shocked zoners as she went towards where Snap and Sandra were. When she finally reached them, she could see that Sandra had Snap pinned down with her foot, grinning at him with a bloodied mouth. She froze in shock for a few seconds, then narrowed her eyes in determination. She lifted up the magic chalk, determined to stop Sandra.

But as she got closer, before she had a chance to use the magic chalk, Sandra turned her head, looking over at her with a feral expression. It was enough to make Penny stop in her tracks. She stared at Sandra, locking eyes with her for several seconds. Then she narrowed her eyes and held up her magic chalk. She could see Sandra's eyes flash in fear in that moment, but the dragon zoner did not get the hint and move.

"Let. Him. Go!" Penny said, taking a step forward. "If you don't let my friend go...I'll..."

"Or you will what, little girl...?" Sandra asked.

Penny was stunned at first. Sandra's voice... it was so much of a growl now, she could barely register that it was Sandra at all. She bit her lip, taking a small step back. But she soon recovered and glared at her. Although she did not like to threaten, she needed to help Snap before Sandra made mince meat out of him.

None of the zoners around her were taking action. They were in a state of shock, unable to believe what they were witnessing. She knew they would come out of it soon, but by then, it may be too late to help Snap. She had to do something before...

There was a flash of blue that filled her vision. It happened before Penny realized what was going on. There was a sudden force against her neck. A thunk sound, and a bit of tearing. It happened so quickly, she didn't realize fully what had happened. The force was enough to knock her back a little. She soon regained her footing and glared at Sandra.

But a second later, she realized something was wrong. Snap was looking at her through horrified eyes. The other zoners around her...they too look terrified as they stared at her. Sympathetic expressions were all around her, staring at her. Then a second later, she registered the pain. She clutched at her neck, immediately recoiling in pain.

She tried to scream, but something got caught in her throat. She felt something salty and warm, moving through her mouth and dripping out of its corners. She pulled her hand away and saw that there was a thick coating of blood on her finger tips.

Her eyes widened, dread gripping her body, fear washing through her like a river. She felt her heart rate continuing to increase. Her body began to shake like a leaf and she stared at Sandra, wide-eyed. She could see her tail hanging at her side, curved inward. She could see the fresh blood on the tips of her tail spikes, and Penny could tell exactly what had happened. She took another step back, dropping her magic chalk in the process.

She could hear the zoners, especially Snap, call out her name. Their voices became echoey, as if they were nothing more than just background noise. An intense pressure weighed down on her mind and eyes. It was tiredness. It was gripping the back of her head, pushing down on her like a heavy boulder. It became rapidly difficult to keep her eyes open, and she began to choke on her own blood.

Then, her hand flexed as a shockwave of pain suddenly went through her body. She realized that it was Sandra's doing. She took a few steps forward, trying to get to Snap. She hoped that, if she tried hard enough, maybe she could get him free.

But it was all in vain. Penny, unable to handle the pain, collapsed on the ground. She made a single, violent convulsion, before the immense tiredness gripped her and pulled her into a deep slumber, which she knew she may never return from. Her eyes grew heavy and she closed them. And with a pained, choked whimper, she descended into the quiet darkness.

sss

Sandra took in a few deep breaths, glaring down at Penny's unconscious form. She watched as her breaths became shallow and weak. Blood was leaking out of her mouth and neck, courtesy of her attack on her.

Sandra's attack on her had been a success. She struck at Penny to make her stop before she had a chance to start anything. She was not yet done with Snap. She could not afford any interruptions. Granted, she hadn't meant to strike her this hard. She hadn't meant to rip the girl's throat out like that. But in the end, it was for a worthy cause, and she didn't particularly feel much, if any, remorse from the action.

She heard the other zoners call out Penny's name, begging her to get up, especially Snap. Sandra's ears twitched in irritation. Those screams and cries were getting on her nerves, which wasn't helping much for the anger that had a hold of her body right now. She could still feel the burning rage grippin her, and these zoners' cries weren't going to do herself any favors.

Although Sandra felt a little better, having calmed down a little, she was still largely in rage mode. She didn't think as much as she usually would, and she had a single minded focus right now. She soon managed to ignore the panicked cries, ignoring the fact that they were witnesses, and she looked down at Snap.

He was looking up at her with wide, frightened eyes. This caused her to smile twistedly. He was starting to learn his lesson. Good... She could stop now, but she wanted more. She craved more. Her mind didn't want to stop. Not yet. She wanted to keep teaching him a lesson. She wanted this engraved into his head. She wanted him to pay for his ignorance. Even if she ended up killing him in the end, she would know she'd do it for the right reasons.

She barely registered the panicked zoners rushing to Penny's side. She turned her head for a moment, seeing them crowd around the unconscious human, trying to wake her up, and she smirked. She looked back down at Snap.

"Please stop..." Snap's voice was laced in pain. "Don't do this anymore...please..."

Sandra shook her head. "No can do, Snap. I must finish."

"B-But there are witnesses... Please stop, before you make things worse for yourself.."

Sandra chuckled at this. "It doesn't matter. Like that is going to stop me from doing what has to be done." She looked left and right, noting some of the zoners that were glaring at her. "Oh don't give me that! I know you all wanted a piece of Snap!" She ignored their glare as she sneered down at Snap. "I am just doing that favor for you..."

Snap struggled harder. Despite the enormous pain he must be going through, he was still willing to fight back. He wouldn't stop. He kept kicking at her, as if he felt it was going to help him escape. She narrowed her eyes at this. She winced as she felt a foot hit against her leg, nearly making her stagger. It would seem that Snap was refusign to accept his punishment. No matter. She didn't need him to accept it; she just needed him to take it.

Sandra licked her lips slowly as she stared down at Snap. "I wonder what you taste like."

"No! Don't!" Snap pleaded with her.

"Oh come now Snap. Surely you understand by now how much of an honor it is to eat the flesh of a loved on." Her smile darkened at this. "How you should consider yourself lucky that your friend becomes a part of you for the rest of your life... I'm sure Howdy enjoys being a part of you, Snap." She ignored the shocked murmurs around her as she stared at Snap. "Howdy swims through your blood now. He can never leave you."

Snap was shaking. Not just from fear, but from anger as well. "How can you do such a thing?!"

Sandra rolled her eyes at this. How many times had she been asked that? More than she could care for. Another sign of ignorance. No one was taking into consideration her side of the story. They don't bother trying to figure out why she does these things. They just expect the answers to be given them on a silver platter. She curled her lip up in disgust. If only they were more willing to see outside of the box, then they would know just how much they had screwed up. They would understand. They would see that she had been right all along.

"I've only been doing what was right, Snap. You crossed me. I made a promise for whoever to do that to pay, and even though it turned out to be you, I knew I had no choice. I had make sure that you were truly sorry for what you did, Snap. I couldn't allow you to get away with what you did, and if you continue on resisting that lesson, I suppose I will have to bring about the final level of punishment for you..."

Snap squirmed underneath her, turning his head rapidly from side to side. "You're a monster!"

Sandra narrowed her eyes. "I am doing just what this world demands. Yes, I did some things I wasn't proud of. I did kill a lot of zoners, even ones that didn't really do anything to warrant it."

The zoners around her looked at each other, their eyes wide in shock at this revelation. They didn't make a move towards her. They just stared at her, wide-eyed, as she continued to torment Snap.

"All those zoners died for a good cause, Snap. They died as a result of me doing the right thing. I ended their misery and gave them a new purpose. I fed them to my customers. They all enjoyed it." Sandra took this chance to look around. She could see the zoners starting at her, most of them, shocked, a few of them outright angered by what she had said. She just smiled at this. "They all tasted good, right? I am such an excellent cook. You have to admit..." She held up her hand in gesture. "I'm the best cook in town."

The zoners glared at her, but they did not say a word. They simply remained quiet, keeping away as if they were terrified of what she might do. She smirked at this, realizing that she was still in control of the situation. She looked back down at Snap.

"You...you had no right to..." Snap said, his voice shaky, his eyes narrowed in anger. "You hurt my friends...you hurt so many zoners... Just who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Sandra lowered her ears, her lips pulling up into a snarl. "Apparently the only one around here to understands the importance of a promise." She lowered her head towards him, her red eyes locking onto his. "Anyone who had an inkling of right or wrong would understand where I'm coming from..."

"You...you're sick..." One of the zoners said.

"I can't believe that you would do such a thing.." Another said. "We...we thought you were..."

Sandra's ears twitched at this. She turned her head, watching the zoners around her. They were glaring at her, but intermixed in their gaze was shock, as if she did something that they couldn't begin to fathom. She cocked an eyebrow at this. She wasn't sure why they were so upset. Surely they would be smart enough to understand, right? Or were they going to be as naive as Rudy and the others were?

"Oh don't be so angry. I killed your loved ones quickly if that's of any comfort. And for some of you, you were lucky enough to eat your friend, making them part of you." Sandra said, grinning darkly. "I saw the looks in your eyes...the way you savored the flavor... You all enjoyed my cooking. You all must have experienced just how wonderful and diverse the zoner meat flavor can be." She tilted her head to once said. "You lot should tell me all about it. I'll be happy to hear about how you enjoyed the eating the meat of your own kind. Trust me, nothing tastes better.."

Sandra turned her attention back to Snap. He was still squirming underneath her, struggling in vain to get free. Her mouth ticked into a broader smile, her teeth flashing in a grin. She couldn't help but feel happy. She was about to send Snap through a journey that would never end. A journey through her body, forever circulating through. Snap should be thanking her that she was giving him an honor.

Oh well, if he doesn't want to do that, she supposed she couldn't really force him into it. Otherwise, it wouldn't be sincere. It was his loss, not her own, if he decided to not to thank him, if he decided to continue resisting despite her giving him such a joyous experience. Eating the meat of a friend... it's a beautiful experience that she felt everyone should partake in. Even if Snap refused, and resisted him force feeding hilm, she could still carry out the deed anyway. She could satisfy her needs.

Sandra didn't bother giving Snap a warning. She already told him that she was going to make him a part of her body. She opened up her jaws wider, showing off her sharp teeth. There were pleas around her for her to stop, but she ignored them. She watched Snap squirm, his eyes widening in horror. She only hesitated for a second before she brought her jaws down onto him.

She ignored his screams as her teeth tore into his flesh, her teeth sinking into his shoulder. She pulled her head back, tearing out a chunk of meat from him. She swallowed it in a single bite. She licked her lips slowly as Snap looked up at her in fear, shock, and pain.

"You taste pretty good... That's good. I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship by finding you distasteful." Sandra said. Her voice was still growly and scratchy, but she did not pay much attention. "Oh no..."

"P-Please stop..." Snap begged.

"Now now Snap.. I forgive you for not enjoying my taste. I admit I probably should have eaten better. It's my fault." Sandra said, smiling down at him. "But don't worry... I don't plan on rejecting you. You have such a nice flavor. Just hold still... This will be over before you know it..."

Snap let out screams as she bit down onto him again and again. She ripped up meat from his shoulder and arms. Her teeth sank in deeply, tearing through the tender muscle. Blood leaked from multiple wounds on his body, staining the ground everywhere. The smell of blood became strong in the air, filling everyone's nostrils. Each time she tore off meat, her tongue was bombarded with sweet sensations. It sent a shudder down her spine, making a smile tock at the corner of her mouth.

Snap had a sweet flavor. Sweeter than any meat she ever tried. His blood was delicious, and she found herself lapping at one of his gaping wounds. She listened to him whimper as she licked away at his tasty blood. After she drank some of his delicious salty red fluid, she resumed eating his meat while he was still alive.

More screams echoed in her ears, making them twitch. It was so irritating, but she knew she was doing the right thing. After all, she was making Snap a part of herself. She wanted him to experience it, to know that she was the one who cared enough about him to begin eating him while he was still alive and awake. Such an honor. She wished that he would see things her way. It would make this so much easier.

She looked down at his stomach. She licked her lips, imagining how it must taste. She gave a nasty smile to Snap and then she lowered her head to his stomach. Snap squirmed violently. Sandra held him firmly in place. She sniffed his stomach, taking in his scent. She sighed in content, drool dripping down from her jaws. With only a moment's hesitation, she opened her jaws and bit down.

Snap's eyes bulged and he let out an echoing scream. Sandra tore into his stomach, ripping up the flesh with ease. She yanked back, swallowing chunks of his meat. Her teeth made quick work of his stomach muscles, ripping them apart like they were just a piece of paper. The succulent taste of the stomach muscle filled her tongue's receptors, sending her into a heaven of flavor. She chewed a bit more slowly on her next hunk of meat, admiring the flavor. Then she resumed her consumption, taking note of how fear was making him taste even better than before.

Soon she tore his stomach open enough to see his intestines. She licked her lips before she pushed her face in. Snap let out a series of screams as Sandra's teeth snagged on the slippery organs. She began to rip them out, tearing off pieces of the long, rope-like organs, eating them with ease. She attacked his stomach again and again, only stopping when he managed to disembowel Snap, part of his intestines hanging out at his side.

Snap looked up at her, his eyes reddened, stained with tears. He let out a series of whimpers, and reached up a trembling hand towards her despite his pain. He tried to speak, but only a gurgled sound would come out followed by blood dripping down the corners of his mouth. Sandra smiled, her eyes locked onto his. She reached down and stroked his forehead gently.

"Please don't cry, Snap. It will be over. Don't worry. I'll relish this moment, and I will make sure no one would forget you." Sandra said in her growly, feral voice. "It will be all right..."

Sandra lowered her head down and grabbed at his intestines again with her teeth. She loved their flavor. She pulled back, tearing off a piece. She swallowed it, making sure Snap watched the whole thing. She chuckled as Snap was frozen in terorr, his eyes bulging.

Before Sandra had another chance to bite down, something solid struck against her head. She let out a cry of pain as she was thrown from Snap and crashed into the ground. She pushed herself onto her hands and looked at who had attacked her.

Her eyes widened to see that it was one of the zoners in the restaurant. He was pretty big and strong, likely physically stronger than she was. She took in a few shaky breaths, but then shook her head, wiping away her fear. She smiled at the zoner, climbing up to her feet. It would seem that someone else wanted to play with her. Someone else wanted to demand a...sacrifice so to speak...

"Have you come to die?" Sandra asked the zoner.

The zoner narrowed his eyes. "I've come to stop you."

"Stop me?" Sandra had to laugh at that. Just how did this person think they were going to stop him? What part of him thought hat he really stood a chance? She shook her head. Just the ramblings of a stupid zoner. There was no need to waste time on him. "How do you propose you do that...?"

It was then that she noticed the zoner wasn't alone. She could hear footsteps all around her. She widened her eyes slightly, her smile dropping, her temper lowering. She looked all around her, seeing that almost every zoner in the restaurant had her completelhy surrounded. Even flying would do her no good as a number of these zoners had some flight ability. It didn't take her long to realize that she was trapped.

She looked left and right, trying to figure out if there was, somehow a way out. But she knew there wasn't. She knew she was stuck here, surrounded by zoners. Very angry zoners. As her temper dissipated, she came to realize that she had just confessed to what she had been doing, and, seeing how angry these zoners were, she realized that she just just made a huge mistake.

These zoners would not listen to reason. They would not try to comprehend the good in what happened to them, no matter how much she tried to explain to them. All she was going to do was make them angrier; they were already in a rage mode like how she had been. Only this time, she was on the recieving end of such anger. She..she had to get out of here, before...

Sandra did not have time to react when the zoners came at her from all sides. Biting, clawing, scratching, kicking, throwing, she endured all of it as the zoners unleashed their fury over what she had done.

"Stop! Let me go! Please! I'll do anything! Just stop!"


	39. The Trial

Who are you to change this world?! Silly boy! No one needs to hear your words!

-Carnivore, Starset

sss

A loud scream escaped from Sandra's throat when one of the zoners grabbed her by the leg and pulled her back. She was tossed into the air while a second zoner, a flying one, slammed against her back. She crashed into the ground painfully, causing her to lay on the ground and shiver. She opened up her eyes and looked over. She could see a zoner, a beast-like one with a horn, was rushing towards her. Her eyes bulged and she tried to get away. But she wasn't fast enough and the horn slammed against her side. She screamed as she was knocked across the room, rolling and skidding along the ground.

Sandra attempted to stand up on her feet. One of the taller humanoid zoners came towards her. She looked into her eyes, seeing the look of rage in them. The female humanoid grabbed her by her neck and lifted her up. Sandra kicked her legs out, trying to get free. The humanoid zoner pulled her fist back and punched her in the jaw, sending her flying away onto her back.

Sandra laid there for several moments before she sat herself up, using her hand as support. She rubbed her head where she was struck, looking over at the female zoner in shock. She opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't get a chance to say anything. She heard something heavy behind her, and she quickly turned her head to look over her shoulder.

A lion-like zoner, whom she eventually recognized as Arno, sank his sharp teeth into her shoulder. Sandra screamed in agony as Arno lifted her up above the ground. All of a sudden, his design looked much less goofy, and more terrifying. He shook her around like a rag doll before he released her.

Sandra laid on her side, quaking in pain. Tears of pain flowed down her cheeks as she held the arm that Arno just shredded. She would have attempted to heal herself, but right now, her mind was more focused on getting away from these zoners. She looked over at them, watching as they came close for more attacks. She let out a terrified scream and struggled up to her feet. She began to run off in one direction, hoping to put some distance between them and her.

Unfortunately for her, that didn't happen.

A cheetah zoner jumped out in front of her. He gave a loud yowl at her before striking forward with his claws. Sandra stumbled back, her eyes wide. When the cheetah didn't make another move towards her, part of her wondered if the cheetah had decided to call off its attack. But it soon turned out not to be the case.

"You bitch!"

Sandra turned around just in time to see Arno grab onto her with his fingers. He hoisted her off the ground, snarling at her with his lips curled up. Sandra kicked her feet wildly, trying to do whatever she could to escape. But it was useless. She let out a surprised cry when Arno yanked her foward, glaring at her in the eyes.

"I gave you those fireworks because I thought you were going to create a celebrations! If I had known what you were going to do, I never would have accepted your filthy bargain!" Arno snarled at her.

Sandra pushed at his hands, her ears lowering. "No..please... Y-You don't understand...!"

"Shut up!" Arno barked at her, flashing his canines at her. "I don't want to hear another word out of you!" He pulled his arm back and threw her across the ground.

Sandra's body flipped from the force and she hit against a nearby table upside down. One of the chairs wobbled and landed on her, causing her to be partially pinned. Sandra struggled to get up and away, but the chair offered enough of a distraction for two of the zoners to come towards her. They grabbed onto her arms and pulled her out and held her still.

Sandra jerked herself from side to side, pulling as hard as she could. It soon became clear that they were not going to let her go. After a few miserable attempts, she stopped, lowering her head and panting.

She then remembered her special power. She narrowed her eyes and she turned to the zoner on her right. Her symbol glowed and almost immediately the zoner began to scream. She watched in slight satisfaction as the zoner fell to the ground, curling up in pain. With her arm free, she formed a fist and whirled around, punching the other zoner in the neck. The zoner gripped his throat as he fell back, struggling to breathe.

A flying zoner, resembling a chinese unicorn with wings, came barelling towards her. His feet pounded the ground. Sandra opened her mouth and let out a roar. The chinese unicorn didn't back down. Sandra began to activate her healing powers on him. He began to stagger, pain registering in his facial expression. But to her shock, the chinese unicorn didn't back down. And soon he reached her.

The rounded tip of its horn-like structure hit against her forehead. Her eyes instantly bulged open as a shockwave of pain spread through her body. She recoiled, holding her forehead with her feather hands. She stiffened up, shivering as she tried to cope with the immense pain.

"Look! Her triangle mark! It's her weakness!"

"Keep hitting it! Maybe we can incapacitate her!"

Sandra's eyes bulged at this. She looked up as three zoners began to approach her, all with the intent on hurting her. She shook her head in desperation, hoping they would leave her alone. But they ignored her silent pleas and they rushed towards her.

Sandra cringed away, keeping her hands on her forehead protectively. She bared her sharp teeth at them as she hissed, her ears lowered in terror. "No! Don't hurt me! Please! Stop!"

"You dare beg us to stop?" A female zoner snarled. "After all you put us through?" An accusatory finger was pointed her way. "You've got some nerve to try something like that!"

A male zoner nodded in agreement. "Do you have any idea what it felt like when I found out I might have been eating a friend?!" He made a gagging sound, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the shock.

"B-But... it is an honor to eat a friend..." Sandra started to say. "Please...you have to see that..."

"Shut up!" A third zoner snapped, his voice laced in anger. "For so long, we thought Snap was the one who had been hurting us. But it was you all along!"

A bird-like zoner gritted his beak, the tiny sharp teeth exposed. "We will not be making that mistake! And you will not be hurting anymore of us!"

"Surrender now, or do you need to be...encouraged?" Another zoner called out, her voice tinged in determination and anger.

Sandra cringed at this, curling her tail inward and hunching her body in a defensive posture. She looked from left to right, staring at the zoners. She could tell they meant business. They were not going to listen to any explanation she had to give them. They only had one thing on their minds and that was revenge.

Sandra licked her lips nervously, swallowing hard. She backed away from them, pressing herself against the wall. She looked at them with a single, fear-filled eye. She never moved her red eye away from them.

She had never imagined things could go down like this. She never pictured this being the end result of what she had been doing with Snap. She had never imagined the zoners here could be so unreasonable. They were all reacting out of emotion, not logical. They were letting their anger rule their minds. She knew that they weren't going to stop and listen to reason. She knew full well how powerful emotions were. Even if the zoners only want her arrested, she knew she wasn't completely safe. What if the zoners lose control and rip her apart?

But there was no way she could escape. She looked up and she could see three zoners in the air, flapping their wings, waiting to engage her. And she couldn't very well run away. Too many zoners all around her. They would attack her if she got too close or attempted to escape.

She narrowed her eyes. She wasn't going down without a fight. If these overreactive zoners wanted to fight, then okay. She will give them a fight. Letting out a screech, she charged towards them.

The zoners took a few steps back, shocked by her sudden change of mood. They didn't have time to react before she struck out with her tail. She hit a few of the zoners, slashing them and knocking them into the ground. She whirled around and she headbutted another zoner. She pinned her down and sank her teeth into her shoulder. The zoner screamed and jerked around, trying to free herself. Sandra ripped off a chunk of flesh before jumping away from her.

One of the animal-like zoners came towards her. Sandra narrowed her eyes and waited until the zoner got close enough. She then reached out and seized the dog-like zoner by the neck. She lifted him up and snarled in his face. She then tossed him down, watching him roll away. One of the flying zoners dove towards her. Sandra lifted up her head and let out a screech before she struck forward with her claws. Her sharp tips raked across the zoner's underside, sending them sprawling into the ground.

Sandra then activated her healing powers on almost everyone. She experienced an insant mass headache from just how much power she was using. She fought through it as she forced the zoners on the ground. She felt a smile spread across her muzzle. Now if she could just...

Suddenly there was a loud crash, the sound of a wall crumbling down. Sandra's body stiffened up, her tail and ears raising up on end. Her tiny pupils looked over just in time to see a blur of brown rush towards her. Something slammed against her, making her fall into the ground.

It was Mosaic. Sandra stared at her in shock as the zoner had her pinned on her back. Her shocked expression lasted a few seconds before she reacted. She let out a hiss at Mosaic, who returned the same. The crocodile zoner bit down onto her neck. Sandra thrashed on the ground, kicking and digging her claws against her flanks, slashing them up. She delivered a few punches against the croc's head, and eventually managed to get her off.

Sandra got up to her feet. She opened her mouth and let out a roar. She jumped towards Mosaic while her back was still exposed. She wanted to make sure she never becomes a problem again.

Then she felt a set of teeth on her side. Her eyes bulged as she screeched in pain. Ripclaw had broken through and now held her up in her jaws. Ripclaw shook her like a rag doll, Sandra letting out screams the entire time. Ripclaw then tossed her across the room, and Sandra landed in a thud on the ground. The zoners gathered close to her, curious but also ready to continue their fight with her. She growled at them before glaring back at Ripclaw.

She then caught a scent in the air. She recognized the smell of Dr. Crobat. He was not far away from the building. A few feet, maybe. But he was not alone. Her eyes widened as her nose and ears picked up the smells and sounds of multiple zoners approaching. Cops...

Her hear raced in her chest. She was really in trouble now. She had to get out of here. She was not going to let herself get chased out, not like what happened before. No, history was not going to repeat.

She immediately took flight. She rushed towards the opening that Mosaic and Ripclaw had made. Mosaic tried to bite her, but missed. Ripclaw snapped her jaws at her, and after she missed, took off after her. The remaining flying zoners also began to follow her.

Sandra pushed herself to go as fat as she could. She soon exited the building and she could see all the cops that had come for her. Her heart skipped a beat at this. There were so many... Twenty at least. With them, combined with the zoners, she stood no chance at keeping them all at bay with her super healing powers. Her only option now was to flee.

Just then she felt some kind of warmth wrap around her body. Her arms and part of her legs were suddenly pinned. She shut her eyes and started to thrash and squirm as she was brought up somewhere in a strong yank. She wriggled in whatever she was caught in, trying to get out.

"...so you are Sandra."

The dragon zoner stiffened as the thing that grabbed her spoke. She realized that a sentient zoner had grabbed her, shocking her to her core. She opened her eyes and looked over. It took her seconds to realize she had been grabbed by a giant. Her heart nearly froze, looking at the size of him. She had never seen a zoner this large before.

The giant was quite peculiar-looking. Pale yellow in color, wearing some kind of plaid outfit. Two eyes, vertical to one another. A small patch of orange hair. A hat on top of it. The giant was glaring at her with his two large eyes, which seem much bigger than her own body. Sandra cringed at this, gritting her teeth in fear.

"So you are the one who was causing trouble in ChalkZone.." The giant spoke, his voice booming to her ears.

"Biclops?!" One of the zoners cried.

"Hey everyone! It's Biclops!" Shouted another.

Biclops... Hadn't she heard that name before? Wasn't he the one who guarded the Chalk Mine? Sandra stared at him up and down. She certainly hadn't expected to meet him today. A part of her wondered if he was willing to listen to reason. From what she recalled, Snap said he can be pretty reasonable. So she gave it a shot.

"Why yes I am Sandra. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." Sandra said. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. You see, I run that restaurant down there, and the zoners seem to think that I was being cruel for using zoner meat in my recipes and..."

"You were using zoner meat?!" Biclops shouted, his eyes wide in horror and anger. He tightened his grip on her. "How could you do that?!"

Sandra's mind filled with dread as the giant began to squeeze her. She kicked her legs wildly, jerking herself from side to side. She looked up at the giant in terror, her teeth bared in nervousness. Even Biclops was unreasonable, and with how big he was, there was no telling what kind of damage he would do as his anger controlled him.

Sandra attempted to use her super healing powers on him. The giant's eyes widened and he grunted in pain as he placed a hand against his massive chest. But this only lasted a short time before he brought his massive finger over and flicked her in the head, knocking her head to the side. She let out a screech, her body stiffening as a wave of pain swept through her body.

"In all my life, I have never seen a zoner as atrocious as you, Sandra." Biclops snarled at her. He lowered his head, putting his face close to her body. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Sandra cringed back and gulped, looking at Biclpos in fear. "W-Well..you see..." She stammered as she attempted to defend herself.

sss

Snap let out a soft groan. His mind was kind of muggy, yet he was still aware enough that he didn't pass out. With all the pain he was experiencing, bombarding his body's nerves with immense force, he was honestly shocked that he hadn't slipped into unconsciousness yet.

He turned his head slowly, enough to see there was a large hole. He couldn't see too much of what was beyond it. He could hear the footsteps of many cops. He heard shouts and cries from two zoners. One sounded furious, the other sounded terrified. He couldn't recognize the voices; everything around him sounded so echoey that it destroyed any chance he had of recognizing the owners of those voices.

He shuddered and whimpered in pain. He turned his eyes and he could see the gaping hole in his stomach from where Sandra had ripped into him. He felt tears form in his eyes, seeing his intestines spilled out like that, blood pouring from his wound. Intense horror gripped his heart, making his heart rate speed up.

"No, don't look at your wound!" Came a commanding voice.

Snap noticed that one of the zoners around him came over. At first, he could not recognize who they were. He could make out that it was some kind of bird zoner, but the gender and name eluded him. His vision was filled with color as the zoner knelt down beside him.

"Please look away." The zoner said. "Don't stare at your injury."

When Snap did not move, he could feel a hand against his cheek. The zoner in question pushed on his head firmly yet gently. His head was turned to the side, feeling his other cheek pressed into the ground. The zoner held him there, looking down at him with concern. Snap looked up at him and soon he was able to positively identify the zoner.

It was Dr. Crobat. The bird zoner was patched up, and he was looking at him in a mixture of pain and fear, mostly the fear part. Snap tried to speak, but blood gurgled out of his mouth. He realized, in horror, that he was starting to bleed internally. He felt his heart rate speed up and he began to kick his legs, struggling.

Dr. Crobat held onto him tighter, holding him down. Snap let out a series of wet screams, the immense pain in his stomach intensifying and spreading throughout his body. He felt as though he was being shot full of ice. He...he had to get away from the pain somehow. He couldn't stay here.

"Shh... You need to settle down, Snap." Dr. Crobat said gently. "You can't squirm around too much. You'll end up hurting yourself more."

Dr. Crobat's gentle voice swept through his ears, which was soothing compared to the intense pain that his body was feeling. Snap attempted to calm himself down. He tried to relax, tried to fight back against the pain he was feeling. He knew the doctor was right. He had to settle down. He was going to make himself bleed out faster if he continued to panic.

Although he nearly failed, nearly freaked out more than he already was, Snap, by some miracle, managed to keep himself from panicking too much. He took in several quick breaths, slowing down each time. He managed to bring his racing heart back down to normal after what felt like several minutes. The pain still wracked through his body, tearing him up on the inside, but at least now he was able to keep it at bay, keep himself relatively calm.

Dr. Crobat smiled at this. "I knew you could do it, Snap."

Snap didn't try to answer, knowing that as soon as he opened up his mouth, he was going to spill out more blood from his mouth. He noticed Dr. Crobat giving him a worried expression before calling over some of the zoners. Soon a group of three showed up.

"Put these on." Dr. Crobat tossed some gloves over to the zoners. "And put his intestines back in."

"But what if we...?" One of the zoners asked.

"Just put them back in. I am going to take him to the hospital right after." Dr. Crobat said, cutting the zoner off. "But we can't move him until his organs are back inside his body."

The second zoner put the gloves on. She looked down at Snap nervously, biting her lip. "What if I hurt him?"

Dr. Crobat stared at her sympathetically. "I understand. It will hurt no matter how gentle you are. Just be quick so we can get it over with." Snap's eyes widened at this. Dr. Crobat looked down at him. "Please remain still and calm. This won't take long. We need to put you back together before we take you to the hospital."

Snap tried to speak. He only managed a few gurgles, blood trickling out of his mouth. "P-Pe... Pen..."

"You wondering about Penny? Oh don't worry about her." Dr. Crobat said. "I saw some of the zoners carry her away. She will be fine."

Snap felt relieved. He was glad that Penny was able to get some help. He recalled that she suffered a nasty neck injury courtesy of Sandra. He hoped that the zoners would be able to locate Mint and get her back into the Real World.

His eyes bulged as he felt hands start touching his wound. He let out a scream. Dr. Crobat grabbed onto his arms and held him still, his hands out at his sides. He held him there as the three zoners worked together to put his guts back inside. He squirmed on reflex, his body desperately trying to get away from the pain. The zoners worked as fast as they could, and soon whatever part of his organs were out were put back in.

Snap felt immediate, though not complete, relief when the zoners pulled their bloodied hands away from his body. They looked back at Dr. Crobat for more instructions. The bird zoner simply pushed his hands underneath his body and lifted him up off the ground. Dr. Crobat smiled at the three zoners, nodding his head once.

"Thank you for the help. The ambulance will arrive shortly. We'll take care of the rest." Dr. Crobat said.

With that, the bird zoner began to carry Snap out of the building. The small superhero zoner couldn't register too much of what was going on. His head felt swirly, a side effect of all the blood he had lost, the pain that still stang through his stomach. It didn't take them long to reach the outside of the building.

Immediately Snap's senses were bombarded by the light. He hissed and turned his head away, seething. It took him a few seconds for him to adjust to the light. He looked around, squinting his eyes so he could see better.

He could see a bunch of zoners gathering around to where Biclops was. Snap was confused. When did Biclops get here? Through his muggy mind, he recalled they tried asking Biclops for information, but he wasn't able to provide any. They hadn't even told him about suspecting Sandra. How did he know to come here?

Sandra was in his hand, and he was shouting angrily at her. Sandra sounded like she was desperately pleading with him. Judging from Biclops's expression, it was not working. The cops kept a distance, knowing that it wasn't wise to get too close to an angered giant, even if they weren't the target of his fury. Seeing Biclops like this reminded Snap of how the giant was when he and Rudy first met him.

Just then, he heard the loud wailing of the ambulance. He could see the large white van moving towards him, stopping. He could see the paramedics jumping out, rushing towards him. They were pushing a stretcher towards him. It didn't take them long to reach him.

Dr. Crobat walked over to the stretcher. He stood at its side. He gently lowered Snap until he was on the stretcher. The paramedics didn't strap him in right away. They got out some cloths and began to wrap them around the wounds he had received, especially his stomach. He winced and twitched in pain even though the paramedics were being really gentle with him. He could feel the cloths being wrapped around his body, keeping his blood from leaving him.

As they did this, he lifted up his head so he could watch Biclops and Sandra. It seemed that Biclops just had about enough of whatever Sandra was trying to say. In an act more violent than Snap ever saw, Biclops slammed her into the ground, knocking her unconscious almost immediately.

The last thing he saw before the paramedics began to strap him down was two cops grabbing onto Sandra's knocked out form. Her hands were pulled behind her back and she was cuffed. She was soon dragged away towards a police car, where she was tossed in and the vehicle sped away.

Soon the paramedics were done strapping him down and began to pull him into the ambulance. They pulled him up the ramp that led into the red and white vehicle, being really gentle with him. Soon he was completely inside and the doors were shut. Snap's senses were bombarded with the smell of medicines and other things he couldn't recognize. Only the familiar sight of Dr. Crobat kept him from freaking out.

Then, as the paramedics went to work with him, the ambulance pulled away from Sandra's Alcove and took off towards the hospital.

sss

"How are you feeling, Snap?" Penny asked. Her voice was a bit scratchy, not as smooth as it once had been. The gashes on her neck caused some damage to her voice.

Snap smiled the best he could. He winced as a bit of pain wracked through his stomach. He held onto it gently. "Well...better than I was before."

"At least you're making some progress." Penny smiled the best she could. She coughed a few times, clearing her throat noisily. "You could be in a much worse predicament."

Snap shuddered that comment. "Yeah that's true..."

It had been about a week since their confrontation with Sandra. It was a bit hard for Penny to believe that all that time had passed already. Every day that she'd wake up, she would think that no time had passed at all, and that Sandra was, somehow, still at large. She would be relieved when she would remind herself that wasn't the case.

She had woken up in the hospital in a room with Mint. The doctors had apparently wanted to keep him under observation due to his jaw having a crack in it, and the blood that leaked into his mouth. She was glad for his company, even if neither of them could really talk to each other.

Just like Mint, Penny did not escape from the situation unscathed. Her throat had been wrapped up in tight bandages and the doctors had to keep running tests to make sure that she wouldn't suffer permanent damage. Penny recalled that she obtained her neck injury from Sandra. She felt her heart skip a beat when the doctors mention her throat had nearly been ripped out. She was lucky that Sandra did not fully cut any of her major blood vessels. Only a nick that was easy enough to repair.

Her mother, as well as Mint's mother and father, had come in to visit them from time to time. They expressed their support and how concerned they were for them. It had been difficult coming up with a story. She couldn't tell her mother that they were injured by a humanoid dragon zoner. Eventually she had come up with a story about how they were taking a walk when a large beast attacked them.

This story had fooled her mother and Mint's mother, but not his father. He proved to be a tough cookie to break through. Penny recalled that they had said a beast cut off Mint's leg. Mr. Zandophen didn't seem as easily convinced this time around. He told Penny he wanted the truth, and nothing but. Though Mrs. Zandophen tried to calm him down, she could not deter him from interrogating Penny.

But by some miracle, Mint had been able to pacify his father. He had assured him that Penny was telling the truth, and that they all had just been unlucky again. Mr. Zandophen reluctantly accepted this explanation, but from the look in his eyes, Penny could tell that he did not let go of his suspicions. Although Penny was glad they dodged a bullet with that, she and Mint both worried that Mr. Zandophen was going to try harder to uncover their secret.

"How is Rudy?" Snap's voice called out, cutting her from her thoughts.

Penny looked at Snap, her eyes widened a little. Remembering what the doctors had said, she lowered her head, letting out a deep sigh. "He's...not doing so well..."

"Yeah..." Mint said. The boy stood next to her, using the new prosthetic his dad bought him. "The doctors say the damage could be...permanent."

Snap's eyes widened at this. "Oh no..." He said in horror, putting a hand to his mouth. "Oh poor Bucko..."

Penny nodded her head. She exchanged a quick look with Mint. She looked back at Snap. She could see how shaken up he was from the news. He hadn't attempted to say anything else. He was just staring out ahead, his eyes wide in horror, his mind trying to piece together what she had just told him.

Penny remembered that fateful visit. Before she and Mint came over to visit Snap, they had first visited Rudy. The boy was flat on the bed, his body strapped down to keep it immobile, even though it wasn't really necessary. His neck was encased in a neck brace. His body was hooked up to several monitors, and IV fluids were being pumped into him. He was letting out constant groans, as if the morphine wasn't enough to numb the pain of his neck.

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie were absolutely devastated. She and Mint wanted to comfort them. They tried. But they were too loss in distress over what happened to their son. She and Mint informed them that Rudy was attacked by the same beast that hurt them, and he had saved them, only to suffer a broken neck in the process. The lie worked, as the two adults bought it. But it did little to cheer them up, and instead drowned the two adults into more sorrow, although they were proud of their son for committing such a brave act.

The Tabooties, Penny, and Mint were horrified when the doctors came in and told them that spinal injuries may never heal up all the way. They were certain that Rudy's neck would heal just fine. But the damage to his spinal cord may be permanent. They couldn't even name anyone that fully recovered.

This news was absolutely heart breaking for them to hear. Rudy may be paralyzed for life. The idea of him being forced to live the rest of his days as a quadriplegic was too much to bear. A kid like him didn't deserve that kind of fate. How could life be so cruel?

The doctors did say they would monitor Rudy and inform them of any updates. But they couldn't guarantee anything. They told them all to prepare for the worse, and start to consider how they were going to take care of Rudy now that he has no control over any of his limbs. This was the most devastating news they could ever hear in that moment. As the doctor left, they all broke down crying.

Penny tried to remain positive. Sure the chances of recovery were slim, but there was still a chance, right? Maybe the doctors could figure out a way to treat Rudy and he would make a full recovery. Though even if he only recovered partially, that was preferable over total limb loss.

Only time would tell.

"I can't believe it... How could Sandra do such a thing?" Snap snarled. "This...this is all her fault! When I..."

"Snap! Calm down!" Mint cried.

"Don't let anger get the better of you!" Penny joined in.

The two of them went to Snap's side. They grabbed onto his arms and held him down, keeping him from struggling. Snap looked up at them, his eyes blazing in anger.

"We know you're angry, but please calm down." Penny said. "It's going to be okay. We'll...think of something."

Mint nodded. "Besides, pretty soon the trial will begin. You have been dropped of all charges, and you will testify against Sandra."

Penny said, "Yeah. You will help send her off to jail, where she can never hurt anyone again." She gently squeezed his shoulder while her hand stroked his head gently, carefully avoiding his injuries. "You can help Rudy and the others that way, okay?"

Snap took in a few deep breaths. The anger slowly melted off of his face. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He then looked up at Mint and Penny, giving a small, bitter smile. "Yeah... You're right."

Penny smiled at this. She was glad that Snap understood. She didn't want him trying anything foolish. As angry as she and Mint were at Sandra, they both understood there was little they could do until the trial began. It would be in about a week. They wanted Snap to be recovered enough to attend without risk of him keeling over during the trial.

Then, and only then, could they deliver the proper justice that Sandra deserved. Penny felt an enormous sense of relief. Finally, after all this time, it was going to be over. Everything was falling back into place, and now everyone in ChalkZone City knows what Sandra, not Snap, had harmed them and toyed with them. And when the trial would commense, Sandra would face all the charges, and she would be properly punished. Penny hoped that they would find a suitable punishment for someone like her.

Before she could continue her train of thought, she heard someone knocking on the door. She turned her head and she saw zoner standing in the door way. The tall stick figure zoner looked all too familiar.

"Hello, Taima..." Mint said, a cautious tone to his voice. "Did you want something?"

Taima nodded his head, rubbing his hands nervously. "I...wanted to speak to Snap."

"M-Me...?" Snap asked. His eyes were wide in fear. "Wh-Why...?"

"I won't be here long. The wardens are letting us only a short stay so we can speak to you." Taima said.

"Us...?" Penny asked.

Taima replied, "Yes. You see... we were all feeling pretty bad about how we treated you all." His eyes locked onto Snap. "Especially you. We all wanted to tell you how sorry we were. I wanted to go first, because I was the one out of all of us who wronged you the most."

Penny noticed how terrified Snap looked. He was cringing in the bed, whimpering and shaking. It made her wonder just what this zoner had done, besides orchestrate the mob, that had Snap so scared. She glared in his direction in an accusing manner. Whatever it was, she knew he had no excuse for it.

Taima noticed her look and he looked away in shame. He then looked at Snap, his eyes fillted with immense guilt. He walked slowly towards Snap, taking his time. Snap's whimpers increased as Taima came closer. The stick figure zoner soon reached his bed side and he stared down at Snap. He remained quiet for a few seconds, staring at Snap sadly. He then sighed and spoke.

"Snap...I'm so..so sorry..for how I treated you in the prison. I'm sorry for all the times I beat you up, for when I threatened you.. I'm sorry about everything I did in there. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was merely avenging my sister. But I had ended up turning myself into a complete monster. Galena...would not be proud of what I have done. I am ashamed, and I regret ever allowing myself to be fooled by Sandra."

Taima reached out towards Snap. The superhero zoner cringed away, making it even more apparent to Mint and Penny what this zoner had put their friend through. They glared at him. The only thing keeping them from pushing him away from their friend was the fact that he was apologizing to him.

Taima gently stroked the top of Snap's head, probably the first act of kindness he had ever given the zoner. "There was no excuse for how I had acted towards you. I didn't have to hurt you, yet I still did. I let my anger get the better of me and I acted like such a fool." Tears dripped from his eyes. "I..hope you find it in your heart to forgive me, Snap. I'm so very sorry..." He leaned forward and, in a risky move, hugged Snap. "I'm so very sorry..." He whispered.

Snap's body stiffened up from fear, his eyes widening. But he soon relaxed, reassured by the presence of Penny and Mint. The fact that Taima wasn't trying to hurt him this time may have helped as well. Though Snap was clearly still frightened, he did work up the courage to put an arm around Taima, partially returning the hug.

After what felt like several minutes, Snap whispered, "I..can't forgive you yet. You hurt me so badly... But I do accept your apology, and I am willing to give you another chance. I'll forgive you as soon as I can..."

Taima nodded his head in understanding, smiling. "...thank you.."

"No. Thank you..." Snap whispered as he continued to hug Taima. "Your sister would be proud of you."

Taima's eyes widened at this. Then he smiled. He continued to embrace Snap, tears strolling down his cheeks. He didn't say another word.

Mint and Penny watched this, smiling. They were glad that some of the tension was finally being lifted. They were glad that Taima not only realized that he was wrong, but he had the courage to face his mistakes and apologize. They both knew, especially Mint, how hard that was. It really did take a lot of strength to admit when you were wrong, and they were happy that Taima was able to do it.

They were also glad that Snap was willing to give him another chnace. They understood that he couldn't forgive him right away. Given the circumstances, it was understandable. The zoner had confessed to beating him up in jail, and from the way he said that, and from Snap's behavior, it wasn't a one time thing. They both felt anger towards the zoner, imagining all the cruel things he may have done to their friend.

But at least things were being patched up now. Apologizing was the first step towards healing. They were certain that, in time, Snap would forgive Taima, and Taima would become a better person as a result of this ordeal.

Soon Penny heard footsteps down the hallway. They were heading over here. Penny didn't need to see them to know who it was. The other zoners, wanting to apologize, were arriving onto the scene. Penny and Mint smiled at this, glad that something positive was happening lately for once.

Penny furrowed her eyes. She hoped that the same could be said for the trial. She hoped that Sandra does not get away with what she did. She had her doubts, and she knew Sandra most likely will be locked up. But a part of her was still worried. She hoped and prayed that things would turn out in their favor.

All of ChalkZone City was depending on it.

sss

"The court is now in session." The judge said as he pounded his mallet down a few times.

At those words, Snap couldn't help but flinch. Although he had been anticipating this moment for a long time, although he felt as though the extra week wouldn't be up quickly enough, he still felt some apprehension regarding the trial. The idea of facing Sandra again still unnerved him. He did his best to remain calm, reminding himself that Mint and Penny, as well as Blocky, Rapsheeba, and many others were here. They would make sure Sandra couldn't do anything.

He turned his head to where Sandra was. She was seated at the table not far from his. There was a large zoner standing next to her, keeping an eye on her. Snap had his doubts the zoner was there to defend her willingly, and only did so because it was requested, and perhaps because he was being paid to do it.

Sandra had some kind of weird metal helmet on her head. Snap guessed it was so that she could not use her healing powers. If that were the case, then he was glad for that. He could still feel those powers ripping into his body, tearing him apart internally. He shuddered. Even in memory, they were still painful.

He looked down at his stomach. The wound hadn't fully healed, and he was going right back to the hospital after this. But it was still doing much better than before. The doctors had it patched up the best they could, and kept him on medication while his body healed up. Seeing his stomach, though he could not see his wound, reminded him of just how insane Sandra had become. He could still feel her jaws in his stomach, ripping out his flesh... He could feel a cold chill shoot down his spine in remembrance. And the way she had forcefed him a piece of her meat, her tongue pushing inside his mouth so she could force him to taste her flesh...

Well at least it was over now. He could now concentrate on what really mattered right now. He could focus his attention on securing Sandra's place where she belonged: prison.

"Sandra." The judge said.

Sandra stood up from her seat. "Yes, your honor..?"

"You stand accused of on the charges of mass murder, torture, and cannibalism." The rhino-like zoner leaned forward, staring intently at Sandra. "How do you plead?"

Sandra smiled at this. "Why, guilty of course..." There was a chorus of shocked murmurs all around her. "But why should I feel guilty for any of it? I didn't do anything wrong really." She spread her hands up into the air. "It's just that everyone in this courtroom is letting their emotions get in the way. They're too blinded to see reality."

This did not take too well with the zoners. Snap could hear angry comments and growls being directed at Sandra. If it weren't for the fact that they were in court, he would imagine that they would be coming towards her and make her eat her words. He found himself glaring at her as well, as did his friends.

The very idea that, even after all this time, Sandra sitll thought she was doing right was sickening. How could she still continue believing that she hadn't done anything wrong? How could she believe that she was doing anyone a favor? He would have thought her time im prison would have solidified to her the fact that she had been the one who was wrong, that she had misjudged, that it was she, not they, who had a misunderstanding of how the world worked.

"Yeah, I tortured Snap, but it was his own dang fault." Sandra said through clenched teeth. She glared in Snap's direction for a few seconds, causing his heart to skip a beat. She turned her attention back to the judge. "He had ruined my beautiful machine and threatened to send my restaurant into bankruptcy."

The zoners around her expressed their disgust for her.

Sandra smirked. "True I could have gotten a new machine. I did so quite easily by visiting the Future Dome. But it was the principle of the thing. See, I had to make sure that Snap learned his lesson and didn't try to hurt me again. So I set up the explosion in the Shrapen Tower. Sure all those zoners dying might seem like a waste.." She shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "But oh well. They all died for a worthy cause."

This outraged the zoners. They all shouted at her, spewing threats in her direction. Some of them actually had to be held back as they tried to climb over the barrier to get to her. Sandra looked at them, surprised, but did not show fear.

Snap and his friends glared at her in disgust. Of course she would act this way. Of course she would think she did nothing wrong, act like this was all just casual talk. After all the disgusting things she did, nothing surprised them anymore.

"Order! Order!" The rhino judge said, pounding his mallet. He only stopped when the zoners quieted down, which took a little while. "Sandra, I will not permit another outburst like that in my courtroom. You understand?"

"I didn't yell..." Sandra muttered. She lowered her ears slightly when the rhino judge narrowed his eyes. She quickly nodded her head and said, "But I understand, your honor." She sat back down in her seat, lowering her head.

"Good. Now to begin..." The judge said.

sss

Snap had been called up to the stand. He gulped, knowing that this was it. There was no turning back. It was time to tell everyone exactly what Sandra had been doing to him. He was nervous, especially with Sandra staring at him. Even though she had already said what she did, he stil needed to tell his side of the story.

In front of him, a zoner stood, pacing back and forth, his eyes boring through his. Snap remained quiet and watched him nervously. He did not say a word and just waited for him to speak. He could feel his heart twisting in anticipation, and he tried his best to mentally prepare himself for whatever the zoner had in mind.

"Snap, could you explain to us what happened?" The zoner finally said. "What did Sandra do and when did it all begin?"

Snap hesitated for a moment. He looked over at his friends. They smiled at him reasurringly. He then looked back at the zoner before him. He cleared his throat and spoke as loudly as he could.

"It all began a couple months ago. My friends and I were dealing with Skrawl when he was attacking the city. I had led the Beanie Boys away and I ended up discovering a hidden tunnel. I followed it and I came into this large underground warehouse. I found this unusual machine and when I tried to find my way out, I accidentally knocked the shelf onto it, destroying it. Later on, me and my friends found out it was emitting a signal, which had been screwing with everyone for quite some time. That is why many zoners acted the way they had. The policemen being unhelpful. Zoners being aggressive. People overall being ignorant of missing zoners. Sandra had done all of that."

"Please continue the story, Snap." The judge said.

"Oh right." Snap nodded his head, realizing he had gone off a bit of a tangent. "Well, afterwards, I had gotten an invitation from Sandra. She had set up a party for me in my honor. I went there the following day and met a couple of zoners who wanted to know how I stopped the dreaded machine. Sandra had arrived not long after and called me into the back. I had wanted to wait, but she insisted, so I followed her."

Snap paused for a moment. The next part was going to be hard to talk about. Even now, in distant memory, it filled him with horror. But he knew he had to talk about it. There was no getting around it. So he continued.

"After leading me into the back, she had set off some kind of explosion. I lost consciousness for a short time. When I woke up, my legs were burned badly and I was in so much pain. I couldn't remember where I was at first, how I got there. I then saw someone approaching me. Sandra. She stood in front of me and talked about how it was all my fault this had happened to me, and she acted as if she was sorry she had to do this. She put her hand against my forehead and that was when she placed the tumor in me." He closed his eyes, shuddering at the memory. "And of course, many know the tale after that. How I couldn't remember...how my friends tried to find clues, how everyone began to accuse me..."

His voice trailed off. He couldn't speak anymore yet. Distress was wringing his heart again. Even just talking about what happened filled him with too much terror. He needed a few seconds to regain his composure. He tried to ignore the expression Sandra was giving him. She couldn't hurt him, he reminded himself. She couldn't attack him.

Snap said, "She had used the machine to increase everyone's hostility against me. She had done whatever she could to make sure that I got blamed for it. She claimed she was just teaching me a lesson. But that didn't change the fact that she hurt me...so badly." He shivered in anger. "And so many others... She used that gawd awful machine of hers to help her kill other zoners. She killed Doofus Penny and murdered Doofus Rudy right in front of us. And there were so many other zoners she's killed, both at the party and from the hospital."

"I recall it was alleged that her machine was screwing with the hospital's security system." The zoner in front of him said. "Is that true?"

Snap nodded his head. "Yes, indeed. She was kidnapping terminally ill patients to kill for their meat." Snap felt his blood boil at this. "She has been feeding meat to other zoners for...I don't know how long. She made me eat Howdy..."

Sorrow gripped his heart at this. He heard the zoners around him murmur softly. He heard his friends gasp in horror. He hardly paid attention. His head pounded with memories of what had happened to him, the things he heard Sandra say, the things he knew that she did. He was still horrified that he had called her a friend. If he had known that she was up to...

He tried to push it into the back of his mind. There was little he could do about the past now. At least he was making up for it now. Sandra was clearly not going to get away with what she had done. Judging from the reactions all around him, he could rest assured that she would not get away with any of this.

"Oh what a beautiful story there, Snap." Sandra spoke up, grinning. Snap looked at her in fear. "But you forget to mention one thing. You forgot to tell everyone that you were looking at the world through filtered glasses. You forgot to tell them that I am capable of understanding the way the world works."

Snap glared in her direction. "You understand nothing. You were created with two creators and now your mind is so mixed up, you can't tell your right from your left."

Sandra snapped her head back and snarled at Snap. "How dare you..." She lowered her ears. "You think that you're so smart, don't you? At least I know what friendship is! At least I didn't betray anyone! At least I didn't destroy something you care about! At least I gave a purpose to all those cripples! At least I was willing to teach you a lesson before you went off and tainted the sanctity of the promise!"

"Order!" The rhino judge barked. "Sandra, you are out of line!"

But Sandra was not done yet. She got up from her seat. She glared at Snap and pointed a finger in his direction. "Do you really think you are better than me?! I've done more for ChalkZone than you ever have!" A dark smile spread across her face. "Yet here you are, trying to tell the zoners something without even considering my viewpoint!"

"Because you won't consider others!" Snap shouted at her. He knew he may just be irritating the rhino judge, but in the heat of the moment, he didn't care. "You are the one who is closed minded, and won't try to see another's point of view!"

"Because I know I am right! It is you who is wrong! It is you who won't try to see things my way! You think you can create the rules about promises and friendship? I'm sorry, but the rules had already been set, and it seems I'm the only one here to knows them." Sandra looked like she was about ready to lunge towards him. He wasn't even sure what was keeping her there. "You think you can change the rules, boy?! You think you can come up with your own view of what such things are?! Do you think you can change the world?! Sorry but that is impossible! The world is the way that it is, and if anyone around here disagrees..." She used her hand to indicate the members of the audience attending the trial. "They are just blinded. They're too stupid to see."

Snap glared at her. How dare she say such things... The zoners around him, as well as his friends, expressed their disdain for Sandra. They began to call her out on her cruelty, telling her the terrible things she has done. But all she did was laugh and scoff at them. It was clear she had become unhinged. Her time in jail likely didn't help things much.

The judge slammed his hammer down. "Order in the court!" When the others settled down, the rhino glared at Sandra. "I will give you one final warning, Sandra! Please refrain from anymore outbursts. You will have your chance to speak up."

Sandra grinned nastily at the rhino judge. "Oh of course, your honor..."

"I mean it. One more outburst from you, and I will double your punishment!" The judge rhino snarled. "Do you understand me?"

Sandra narrowed her eyes at him, but unwillingly nodded. "..yes."

The judge glared at her for a few seconds. "Okay...let's continue on with the trial."

sss

The rest of the trial went off without much problem. Sandra hadn't attempted to interrupt again, despite really wanting to speak up as zoner after zoner recalled the horrific things that happened because of what she did. Loved ones spoke out against her, who were still grieving for the ones that they had lost, whom they would never see again.

Mint felt sorry for all of them. He couldn't begin to imagine the level of loss they were all suffering. Some zoners lost more than one loved one. And an unlucky few lost practically everyone they cared about. He couldn't blame them for being so bitter. The only consolation that Mint knew they could get was the fact that Sandra was going to be locked up. There was no way she was going to be let off the hook. She was going to pay the price for her horrific deeds.

He and Penny both had their turn to talk. They filled in the blanks that Snap's story could not cover. They told them about what they did to figure out what happened, how they learned that it was likely Sandra who was involved, how they found out about her being cannibal, and whatever else they could tell them.

They also described how Sandra had hurt them both. Penny recalled how Sandra had slashed her throat open when she tried to help Snap. Mint recounted the tale of how his jaw had been dislocated by Sandra. These acts alone horrified the zoners. He could hear some zoners express regret for thinking that they would ever betray ChalkZone, especially Mint.

The boy didn't hold too much anger towards them. Part of their behavior was thanks to the machine, which was making everyone act strangely. It was just more noticeable in some than others. Penny deduced that even they were constantly affected, but it was so minor, they didn't notice. Sandra likely had different settings that controlled who it was affecting more, as well as what areas of the hospital had its security jammed.

The zoners were absolutely horrified when they found out about Sandra breaking Rudy's neck. Even the zoners that already knew were still horrified by the turn of events. This, combined with the other things Sandra did, nearly caused an enraged outburst, with only the judge's hammer calming them down so the trial could proceed.

Sandra did speak as well. And just like before, to everyone's anger, she still tried to say that she was innocent. She attempted to convince the zoners that she was right and pleaded with everyone to look inside their hearts and attempt to see things from her point of view. This, predictably, didn't go over well with the zoners, causing some heated arguments to be spat back and forth.

Before the trial was over, there was an usual addition. Some hyena named Jyker. Sandra apparently didn't like him, judging from her reaction. And Jyker clearly knew her quite well. Jyker had been called to the trial because he was witness to something Sandra did when she first arrived in ChalkZone.

Jyker did not give away too many details, such as exact location. But he had informed the zoners in the trial about what had happened not long after Sandra was erased and placed into ChalkZone.

She and him had been friends, although not exactly the closest. Jyker, not Snap, had been the first one to help Sandra find her place in ChalkZone. However, Sandra's twisted mentality was present even back then. In the far away land she once lived, she had been acting out on that foolish promise belief of hers. She had apparently killed a couple of zoners rather brutally when she found out they were promise breakers. Sandra had been chased when she was figured out, as Jyker, shocked by what she did, had reported her.

The event was so traumatic that Sandra blocked some of the memory out. She did remember enough, but some details had alluded her, and it took Jyker's story to remind her. That did not change her behavior, however, and she still accused Jyker a filthy traitor. All Jyker would tell her was that she brought this fate upon herself.

Jyker's testimony did not shift things too much in their favor, as they were already winning the trial. Nobody was supporting Sandra, not even the zoner who was supposed to be defending her. The zoner hardly put up much of a fight as he knew nothing he would say would uncover anything to defend Sandra with. However, Jyker's testimony did offer them more information about her. Knowing that she had done other crimes would make it harder for her to escape justice.

Soon, the trial was going to be over. Everyone had a chance to speak. The jury was making their verdict. It wouldn't be long now. Soon, Sandra was going to be convicted and the zoners could sleep more soundly at night.

Then, after what felt like several minutes, the jury of twelve zoners stood up. One of them stepped forward, looking at the judge expectantly.

"Have you reached a verdict?" The judge zoner asked.

"We have, your honor." The lead juror said, nodding his head. "We find Sandra..." He paused. Everyone looked at him expectantly, waiting, tension rising in the air. Then he concluded with, "...guilty of all charges."

There was a shockwave of relief that went through everyone's bodies. Everyone felt so happy with the verdict. Zoners were hugging each other, some crying in happiness. Snap's grin spread from ear to ear. He was looking at the zoners, feeling happy that they had all finally gotten the closure they had deserved. Mint felt Penny wrap her arms around him and pull him into a hug. He hugged her back.

They couldn't believe it. It was over.. It was finally over.. Sandra was going to jail. She was not going to be able use her powers or her machine on anyone ever again. No more zoners will have to suffer at her claws. No one else will endure the pain of loss because of that wretched dragon. Sandra was finally going to see exactly where her actions had brought her. There was no going back. She will have the rest of her life in jail to think about what she did, and know, as each day passed, she could have avoided it so easily.

Mint knew they weren't out of the woods yet, though. There was still recovering to be doing. The zoners all around him had lost loved ones due to Sandra's horrendous actions. They would need more time to heal mentally and move on. Mint winced as he rubbed his mouth. His jaw still hurt him from time to time, and Penny's voice still had some scratchiness due to the wound on her neck. Snap was going to take a long time to recover, and Rudy...how may not recover at all... A cold chill went down his spine at that. He hoped and prayed that Rudy would be okay.

He quickly realized that not everyone was happy with the verdict. There was still someone who rejected it, and who it was did not surprise him at all.

"What?! No! You can't do that!" Sandra stood up, slamming her hands against the table. "I demand a retrial! This isn't fair!"

"You already had your chance to speak..." Jyker, who sat not far in the audience, said, glaring at her. "I told you that you would not be able to stay here, for your dirty little secret would have been exposed." Jyker narrowed his eyes as Sandra shot him a fire-filled glare. "Be mad at me all you want, but you ultimately brought down your own downfall. Why don't you suck it up this time and pay for your crimes? It's the least you can do."

"No! I won't! I did nothing wrong!" Sandra screeched.

The rhino pounded the mallet a few times. Sandra looked up at him, her eyes still wild-looking. "As punishment for your crimes, you are sentenced to life in the Vortex Of Solitude. Save for those tasked to bring you food, you will not be permitted any visitors. You have created your own world in your head that you seem to adhere to, and thus you will spend the rest of your days in a world where you are by yourself, just as alone as the opinions that you share."

Sandra's eyes widened. "No!"

"Your restaurant will be torn down, and all traces will be destroyed. In its place, we will put up a therapy center to help those you have harmed. Your machine will also be obliterated, and no one will be able to use it again."

"You can't do this to me! I'm innocent I tell you! Innocent!" Sandra screeched, her voice becoming more growly and high pitched as the seconds past. "A retrial! I demand you to give me another trial!"

"Enough, Sandra!" Barked the judge.

Sandra paused for a moment. She lowered her head, looking left and right. Mint could see the look of terror in those eyes. Sandra clearly knew she was screwed. She knew there was nothing she could do to save herself now. There was no way the judge was going to change his mind on his ruling. Because of her actions, she was going to be locked in a place all alone, with almost no contact. She was literally about to lose everything, and she knew, deep down, it was all her fault.

But that didn't mean she was going to take it lying down. Mint watched in horror as Sandra leveled her eyes with Snap, who was sitting at the table beside her. He could see her seethe, her teeth clenching, growls escaping her throat. They all knew what was coming, but before anyone could act, Sandra made her move.

The blue dragon dove towards Snap. The movement was so fast, it was nothing but a blur to most zoners' eyes. Snap let out a scream as Sandra pinned him down. Sandra snapped at him, missing only by a centimeter. She roared in his face, her hot breath hitting against his skin.

"You traitor! You're just like Jyker! You betrayed me! This is all your fault! I hate you, Snap! I hate you so much!" Sandra screeched as she dug her claws into Snap's body. The small zoner let out a cry of pain. "I'm going to kill you! I'll shred you! I'll make you sorry you ever crossed me! Traitor!"

"Snap!" Mint and Penny cried in horror.

"No! Stop!" Rapsheeba shouted.

Blocky looked left and right, his eyes wide in panic. "Somebody, do something!"

Fortunately, someone did. Jyker slammed against Sandra, his jaws clamping around her throat. Sandra let out a scream as the two tumbled across the ground. Jyker soon pinned her down, using both his hands and his jaws to hold her down. Sandra squirmed violently on the ground, releashing a string of insults and threats at Jyker. The hyena didn't let go, clearly knowing that Sandra could not hurt him with her powers so long as she wore that helmet.

As she was being held, Mint, Penny, Rapsheeba, and Blocky went to Snap's side. They helped him up to his feet and looked him over. It didn't seem like he was injured, but their fear was that Sandra had aggravated his old wounds, perhapse even making them worse...

Seeing Snap so scared tore at their heart strings. He had been traumatized by when Sandra had ripped him apart and started to eat him while he was alive. And now she had nearly done the same thing again. Poor Snap... They all hoped he would recover mentally from this terrifying experience.

Sandra seemed to have settled down, albeit unwillingly. She had caved in, realizing that she had no chance to escape. Jyker was clearly much stronger than her. There was nothing she could do to secape. She glared up hatefully at him, while Jyker returned the gesture. He did not release his grip on her until the judge spoke up.

"Take her away."

A couple of cop zones approached, and only then did Jyker step away. Sandra's arms were yanked behind her back and metal cuffs were placed against her wrists. She was forced up to her feet and the cops began to drag her away.

As they walked past where Mint and the others were, there seemed to be a pause, as if time stood still. Sandra locked eyes with the terrified Snap. Her face contorted into an animalistic expression, her pupils shrinking into dots. Without warning, she curled her lips up into a snarl and slammed her jaws shut at him, attempting to bite. Snap let out a scream and huddled back towards his friends while the cops yanked her away and dragged her off.

Everyone watched in silence, their expressions either of anger, determination, or uncertainty. Soon the cops reached the door. As she was being dragged out, Sandra shot everyone a glare. She then settled her eyes on Snap. She snarled in his direction, her expression giving off a silent promise. After a few tense moments, she was dragged out of the room and out of everyone's life.

Relief slowly washed through the room, releasing the tension that had built up. Everyone tried to relax, and smiles spread across the room. Everyone knew what the slam of that door meant.

It was over.


	40. Heal

We are coming out of the eclipse now. The sunlight, it's beautiful... The sunlight is beautiful!

-Daylight, Brave Saint Saturn

sss

Snap let out a soft groan as his bandages were being changed. Although Dr. Crobat was being very gentle, even the lightest touch was enough to wrack his body in pain, especially in his stomach and areas where Sandra tore off his flesh. He tried his best to remain quiet and still, but it eventually became too much and he had to cringe away.

Dr. Crobat stopped, looking down at Snap with concern. "I'm not hurting you that much, am I?"

Snap put on a brave face. He waved his hand and said, "No..no..I'm okay. Just a little sting, that's all."

Dr. Crobat furrowed his eyes. "Snap, you shouldn't lie to me. You're in the hospital now. If you're in pain, you have to tell us."

Snap sighed. He knew the doctor was right. He didn't know why he tried to say that he was doing better than he really was. He felt a bit ashamed. He needed proper care and he won't get that if he lied about how he was feeling. He knew that his friends wouldn't want him to fake feeling better, and he knew doing so could lead him getting far worse injuries.

"I know. I'm sorry." Snap said, bowing his head. He corrected his earlier statement. "Yeah, it hurts real bad..."

Dr. Croboat looked at him sympathetically. "I know. Sandra tore you up real good. But don't worry." He resumed wrapping the bandages around his arm. "Soon you'll be back on your feet."

Snap smiled slightly at this. His prognosis was pretty good, better than he had expected. Despite the horrific injuries, they didn't seem like they would cause any permanent damage. He was just going to be bed ridden for a while. The doctors didn't want him risking hurting himself more and wanted his body to rest. Most of his injuries would heal up just fine, given enough time. And when they did, he'd be able to get up and walk around, albeit with some limitations.

His brain tumor was gone completely and there were no signs of it returning. Sandra must have been too angry to really think of using it on him again. The doctors couldn't find any evidence to suggest that it could grow back, and his brain didn't suffer any permanent damage from the ordeal. His memory was as sharp as ever now.

However, though Sandra did heal up his legs and the burns were gone, she still caused enough damage to his body that he will need hospital visits for at least a year. She had tore open his stomach and ripped out part of his intestines. The doctors had stitched them back together and placed them back into his body. But due to the damage, even after he could walk again, he still needed to stay in the hospital for a long time, and even after that, he'd need frequent visits. He hadn't even been able to eat properly yet because his intestines were sitll heavily damaged.

Still, this prognosis was much better than he thought it was going to be. He and his friends were so worried that Sandra did some underlining damage that they could not see. They all had felt relieved to know that Sandra's damage was not as wide spread as they had thought.

"How is he doing...?"

Dr. Crobat and Snap looked over. They could see the form of Dr. Gelcro walking in slowly. Beside him was Mosaic. Dr. Gelcro's expression was etched with concern as he looked at Snap, and then at Dr. Crobat.

"Greetings, Dr. Gelcro." Dr. Crobat said. He finished up bandaging Snap's arm. He turned to face the dog-like zoner. "Snap is doing fine. He still has a long way to go, though." He made a slight grimace. "And I'm not sure how long his mental state will take to fully recover..."

Dr. Gelcro winced at this. "I see..." He closed his eyes and sighed. "I...take it that my behavior towards him didn't help?"

Dr. Crobat tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"I treated him like crap. Most of us doctors had. We were too blinded, too angry... We let our emotions get in the way and we acted out on them." Dr. Gelcro's voice was filled with shame and sorrow. "We should have known better. We should have been more professional. We..."

Dr. Crobat touched his shoulder, causing the dog zoner to freeze. The two looked at each other for a few seconds. Then Dr. Crobat smiled and said, "It wasn't your fault. Remember what Biclops confirmed for us. The machine's signal was messing with all of us on some level. You and the others were just influenced."

"Still I should have fought harder. I..I can't help but wonder if I ended up making things worse." Dr. Gelcro said softly, gritting his teeth. "I mean, I was the one who allowed Snap to be imprisoned and..."

"Listen to me." Dr. Crobat gripped the doctor's shoulders. "None of us could have known what would have happened. We could not have predicted this. Please don't keep kicking yourself, Dr. Gelcro. At least it's over now. Sandra has been stopped and she is no longer a threat to us. We can all begin to recover."

Dr. Gelcro sighed and looked at the bird zoner in the eyes. He slowly smiled and then nodded his head. "Yeah...you're right. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Dr. Crobat smiled.

Snap watched as the two doctors, the two friends, embrace each other. He couldn't help but smile as well. He was glad to see them patching things up. He was glad that, in spite of all the opposition they faced, they still held onto that friendship of theirs. That was a true testament of companionship.

Snap felt the bed shift and he turned his head. He could see that Mosaic had gotten on the foot of the long bed he had been placed on. She looked over at him, her amber eyes shining. Although she was not human and was mostly animal, Snap could tell that Mosaic did feel some level of happiness that he was all right. They had spent quite a bit of time together at the hospital and they had bonded on some level. She inched her way over until her long snout was against his side. Snap carefully reached over and started to pet her on top of her head.

Snap was still shaken up by his experience with Sandra. Even though she had been locked away days ago, every time he shut his eyes, he could still see her face, those narrowed eyes, flashing teeth, feral expression.. It chilled him to the bone, making it hard for him to sleep at night. And even when he did get to sleep, he would have nightmares of her tearing him apart, eating him alive...

He shuddered, the thought clinging to the back of his head like a vice. He knew why Dr. Crobat mentioned the mental healing bit. It was going to take him a long time to fully recover from that, and even then, he knew that, on some level, he was going to be haunted by this for the rest of his life. Being forced to eat the flesh of another, and experiencing being eaten alive...that does a lot of damage to the psyche.

But he took a sigh of uneasy relief, reminding himself that Sandra was no longer a threat. Everything had fallen apart around her. The zoners know what she is now. Her machine was dismantled. Biclops had offered his aid, making it much easier to capture her. She was locked up, where she will never escape. She would forever remain trapped, unable to leave, and she will have no choice but think about what she had done. Although he knew it was unlikely, on some level, he still hoped that Sandra would realize how wrong she had been, and come to not only regret her actions, but experience remorse for them.

Speaking of Biclops, Snap was still shocked he showed up like that. It was completely unexpected. But he was still glad he had. With the signal gone, however it was affecting Biclops was gone, and he had come to help. He had also brought unexpected news: he knew where Sandra got her machine. At least, one particular component of it.

It would seem that not all of the artifacts were taken care of like they had thought. Somehow, Craniac 4 had gotten a hold of a piece, but didn't know what to do with it and tossed it aside. Sandra found it and figured out a way to activate it without the crown. It was uncertain how she did it, which was terrifying enough. But to know that this particular piece could help screw with minds like that... Snap shuddered to think what would have happened if Skrawl had used that during their encounter in his desert hideout.

"Snap...?" Dr. Gelcro's voice cut him from his thoughts. Snap looked up at him. "I...I wanted to tell you how sorry I am..."

"I know you are. Dr. Crobat is right, though. It wasn't your fault." Snap said.

But Dr. Gelcro wasn't done. "I still feel I should apologize. I really owe one to you." He moved in a little closer. He reached forward and gently touched Snap on top of his head. "I am so sorry for the way I treated you. The other doctors are as well. We feel awful about jumping to conclusions and treating you like you were a piece of trash."

Snap just smiled at the dog zoner. He didn't say a word. Neither did Dr. Crobat. Even though Dr. Gelcro must realize that he and the other doctors weren't in full control of the situation, he wanted to apologize. Snap and Dr. Crobat allowed him to speak. He needed this. They all needed this.

Dr. Gelcro bit his lip. He looked left and right. "I'm...and we..are very sorry for how we treated your friends, too. Especially Mint. We were so caught up in the past that we thought Mint was still the Enemy Creator even though he hadn't tried to hurt us in so long. We should have known he wasn't behind this."

"I forgive you, and I'm sure my friends will, too." Snap said with a smile.

Dr. Gelcro nodded his head. "I..still want to make it up to you. We all do." He locked eyes onto Snap, staring at him for a few moments. Then he said, "..you'll get better soon. I promise..."

Snap smiled the best he could. He continued to stroke the top of Mosaic's head. "Yeah.. I know I will..."

sss

Mosaic rested on the bed as the zoners talked to each other. She could hear their words, but she hardly paid attention to anything they were saying. At the moment, it wasn't of her concern. The threat was gone, and she now had no reason to really listen in on their conversation.

Mosaic felt as though, for the first time in a long while, she could finally relax. The off smell from before was gone. Snap no longer had that lingering odor that warned her that something was wrong with him. The medicine givers had gotten her message. Her efforts at communication had paid off. And thanks to what she had done, that dragon zoner, Sandra, had been captured and send to that holding place. She had heard she will never get out of there.

Now that the immediate threat was over, and there was no longer a predator walking around, she could take it easy and relax a little. It would be good for the recovery process. Her body had sustained numerous injuries. The medicine gives did what they could. She didn't know which ones were more severe, or how long they had been wrapped up. What she did know was the pain would stop...somehow. She just had to trust them.

Trust...that was something that, for a while, she wasn't sure she could do with the medicine givers. They dismissed her attempts, and they had continuously blamed Snap for their misgivings. Because of them, Sandra had continued her wasteful hunting, and nearly took Snap in the process. She had come to care about him on some level, and she decided she didn't want Snap to be hurt.

At least it was over now. She could try to get some sleep. A nap would be good. Her body was ringing out in pain. She could tell her body was informing her that she should get some rest to help with her body's repair. All her instincts were telling her to close her eyes. She did not disobey it. She knew better than that. Her body knew itself better than her. To disobey it would lead to death. If only some of these zoners understood this as well as she did. Life would be so much easier.

Mosaic gave Snap one more glance. He seemed to be finishing up his chat with the medicine giver, Dr. Gelcro. She felt a brief moment of satisfaction that he had finally listened to what she was trying to tell them. Then she settled her head down and closed her eyes.

And she prepared for the return of normal life.

sss

Rudy wanted to cry. He wanted to shed tears so badly. He wanted to curl up into a ball and just sob his heart out.

Oh wait...he can't do that anymore.

He was still paralyzed.

Rudy found it difficult to get through the day. He found it hard to pass the time with only his thoughts to accompany him. Sure he liked it when he got a visit from his friends and family. But they could only stay so long, and they could only do so much. They weren't able to do anything to speed up his healing, and when they would leave, it felt as though time would stand still.

Every time he would dream, he would either dream that he had recovered and was walking around, or he would dream that Sandra was attacking him again. Either way, both were highly unpleasant experiences, sending shivers down his spine, filling him with fear.

Being attacked by Sandra was bad enough. Often when he closed his eyes, he could see her lunging at him again. He could still feel her teeth in his neck, pressing against his spine until it broke. The fact that it didn't kill him was a miracle, but a part of him began to wonder if that would have been a more merciful fate.

It was even worse when he would dream he was fine. In his dreams, he could move, walk, use both his arms and legs. He could feel them, the muscles flexing and stretching, any aches he'd have in them. He would think everything was fine and he and his friends and family would talk about how lucky he had been. Or he would even dream that all of this had never happened. But then he would wake up into the cruel, harsh reality, and realize that he was still, and likely will always be, a quadriplegic.

He couldn't cry anymore. He had cried so much the past several dies. His cheeks still stung a little from his last crying bout. His nose was still coated in mucous. He had ran out of tears, and now there was really nothing left for him to do was lay there and think about his life, about what happened, and how his future was going to pan out after this.

The twelve year old had never envisioned his future to be like this. He recalled when Mr. Wilter had given them the project of what they want to do with their life. Rudy never would have imagined that this was where he would end up. He thought he would end up as a professional artist, or working in an art museum, or even a field he did not expect. But all of that was impossible with his arms and legs useless. This was not how he had thought things would go.

The pain, the crack in his neck... he could still feel it. He could still feel, even though his body was numb, Sandra on his body, holding him down, twisting his neck. He tried to push it into the back of his head. He tried not to think about it, as the more he thought about it the worse he fault. He told himself that it was all over now, but that didn't stop his mind from getting worked up over it.

At least his friends and family did what they could to help. His parents were absolutely devastated and they were as supportive as they could be. They knew that treating him was expensive, but they didn't care. They had even gotten some people to chip in and help, including Penny's mom and Mint's parents.

And there was still a bright side to all of this.

Sandra was arrested.

He remembered how relieved he felt when his friends gave him the spectacular news. Sandra was apprehended and tried by a jury. So many people, including his friends, got their chance to testify against that monster. Sandra stood no chance, and was ultimately found guilty.

He was horrified when he had been told that Snap was attacked. But Penny and Mint assured him that Snap survived, and that he was going to be fine. He was going to still take a long time to recover however. Rudy still shuddered when he learned about how Sandra had started to eat Snap alive...

But at least it was all over now. They had gone through the toughest part. They prevailed. Now all that was left was recovery. He couldn't focus so much on what had happened. He couldn't keep living in the past. Sandra was taken care of. He needed to focus on the present. His friends, family... they were what mattered now, not some insane dragon locked up in solitude. If he kept thinking about her, kept allowing her to haunt him, then she would have won. He would not allow her that last laugh.

He hoped that soon, things would return to normal. He hoped that everything was going to be okay. He hoped that, in time, it would be as if nothing had happened.

But he knew that wasn't the case.

ChalkZone City was still reeling from Sandra's attack. Loved ones were still mourning. There would forever be some faces missing from ChalkZone, including the Doofi and Howdy. It brought tears to Rudy's eyes. So many zoners had died senseless deaths, all just for the sick satisfaction of one individual. It was amazing how much harm a single person could do...

His thoughts were cut off when he heard someone in the hallway. He would have lifted his head to look if his neck wasn't encased in the brace. The voices were faint, barely raised, but he had a feeling he knew who it was.

And then the door opened up and his thoughts were confirmed.

"Hello, Penny." Came Rudy's soft reply.

Penny smiled down at him. "Hello, Rudy. Mint's not here yet; he had to discuss something with his parents."

"That's okay. I understand." Rudy said.

Penny bit her lip as she walked towards his bed slowly. "..So..how are you feeling...?"

"Like shit..." Rudy muttered under his breath.

"Rudy..." Penny said softly. Her voice trailed off and she said no more.

Rudy averted his gaze, moving his eyes down as far as they could go. He didn't mean to sound so cold. He was happy to see Penny of course. But that icy comment probably made Penny think that he didn't want her there, which was far from the case. He was just still in a gloomy mood, which she would understand, given the circumstances.

He could hear her move closer to him. He didn't attempt to say anything else. He didn't try to shoo her away. Subconsciously, he wanted her to be closer to him. He wanted her there with him. He enjoyed her company, as he did with the others.

He hoped that he would eventually get out of this rut. He didn't want to remain emotionally destroyed like this. He didn't want to forever be bitter and angry at the world. He might be in a terrifying situation where even death was a merciful escape, but he wanted to push himself through this. He wanted to be brave and stay alive, for that was far more courageous than letting himself die. Sandra's plan could have been to drive him to suicide. If that were the case, he was not going to let her win.

"It's going to be okay, Rudy." Penny whispered softly. She reached forward and touched Rudy on the head, stroking his hair. "You'll see. Everything is going to be okay." She sniffled, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Seeing Penny like this broke Rudy's heart more than his own wounds did. This is what he hated the most. He didn't want his friends and family to cry over him. He hated to see them suffer like this. It made him want to jump out of the bed and assure them that everything was going to be okay.

But that may never happen. Rudy had to face facts. He may be forever paralyzed and there wasn't a damn thing that he or anyone else could do. It was a cruel, terrible fate and it ripped him up on the inside. Just what kind of life could he lead when he was like this..?

He didn't realize he had started to cry again until he felt Penny's finger against his eye. He looked up at her as she wiped away his tear. She was shedded her own and they dripped down off of her face. In an attempt to help her feel better, Rudy gave a smile. A shaky, uneasy smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Yeah... I'm sure that, somehow, everything will work out in the end." Rudy said. He tried to sound as hopeful as he could, but he knew, deep down, there was still a lot of uncertainties in the future. "I hope..."

Penny sniffled. She gave a small smile. "Yeah...I know." She lowered her head for a few seconds. Then she looked back at Rudy. "Snap is doing better."

"He is? That's good." Rudy said. "How much longer will he...?"

"Still a long time, like we told you before. But his prognosis is better than we thought it would be." Penny tried to sound as reassuring as possible. She continued to stroke Rudy's hair. Her gentle touch helped him to remain calm. "When Mint comes here, we thought about doing what we did before. Remember when Mint was in the hospital, as well as Snap?"

Rudy would have nodded his head if he could have. "How could I forget?"

"We're going to bring in a chalkboard so you can speak with Snap." Penny smiled as she saw Rudy's eyes spark at this. "I know you've been wanting to talk to Snap, and he really misses you. So Mint and I decided that we should try this. Today seems to be a good day to try it out." She furrowed her eyes slightly. "It may not be for long. We don't know when the doctors will show up. But...at least it's something, right?"

"Yeah... Speaking to Snap sounds good right about now..." Rudy's voice trailed off, unable to speak anything else.

At least there was a silver lining in this. Even if he never fully recovered, even if he could never walk again, or draw anymore, as much as it would hurt him, at least Snap and his other friends would recover. Penny and Mint's injuries had healed up mostly, and Snap would, in time, recover. At least they would be able to continue enjoying life, and he knew they would always come and visit him.

Penny turned her head. Rudy's hearts filed with the telltale signs of someone walking into the room. He could see the familiar shape of Mint walking in. He looked somewhat irritated, making him wonder what his dead had wanted to talk to him about. But Rudy decided it was best not to press the matter.

"Hiya, Rudy. Are you doing okay?" Mint asked, waving his hand at him.

"Not too well, but what do you expect?" Rudy replied. This time, he made sure to put more effort into making sure he did not sound as cold as before. He managed, though not as well as he had hoped.

Mint flinched at this. He gave Rudy a sympathetic look. "I understand. It's hard being stuck in bed for so long. I..." He lowered his head, staring down at his foot. "I remember what it was like when I couldn't get around at all. I know what it feels like to be trapped in bed for so long." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Then there's Snap. He had his back broken, and he was trapped in the hospital for about a year before he was finally discharged."

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but he paused, reconsidering what he was going to say. He could have easily slipped up there and said the wrong thing. He was glad that he had hesitated when he did so he could really think about what he was going to say.

He knew Mint meant no harm. He still couldn't help but feel a bit...not peeved or annoyed, but...something, when he brought up how he knew how he had felt. None of them truly understood on a deep level. Mint and Snap did not lose control of their bodies. They were not fully paralyzed, unable to move or feel anything. They could never fully understand his situation.

But he knew, in the end, Mint wasn't trying to demean him or anything. He took in a deep breath and sighed, feeling whatever emotion he felt before leave him. He didn't want to dwell on this anymore. He just wanted to enjoy his visit with his friends. Seeing Snap again after so long would definitely cheer him up.

"Where's the chalkboard?" Rudy asked when he realized that Mint didn't have it out with him.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget it." Mint said. He reached down into his pocket and pulled something out. Rudy recognized it as a small, portal chalkboard. "I already told Snap that we were coming, so to speak."

Rudy felt some level of disappointment that the board was so small. But considering that he couldn't go into ChalkZone in this condition, it was understandable. At least the chalkboard was wide enough for them to use without much difficulty. He and his friends should be able to see Snap just fine on the other side.

Mint took a few steps closer to Rudy. He took out a couple pieces of something that Rudy couldn't directly identify, but he could tell what they were going to be used for. He watched as Mint used the pieces to gently hook the monitor up on his stomach, making sure to include an adjustable platform so they could move it enough for him to be comfortable with looking at it.

"Can you see this just fine?" Mint asked. "Or do I need to adjust it?"

Rudy said, "No. It's fine."

Penny smiled at this. She then took another look around the room. She watched, waiting to see if anyone else showed up. When she was certain there was no one, she looked back at Mint and gave a single nod of her head. "Let's get this started." She gave another cautious look down towards the door. "While we still have the chance."

Mint nodded his head. "I agree." He then too out his magic chalk. Without saying another word, he began to draw a portal, going along the edge of the chalkboard to make it as big as possible.

Rudy watched with great interest. He could seel his heart pounding against his chest. He missed Snap so much. He missed seeing him. He missed hearing his voice. To finally see him again after so long... He couldn't wait. This was going to cheer him up for certain. And he knew that Snap would feel much better seeing and talking with him again. They both needed this.

Soon the portal was formed. The light shimmered, and in seconds, he could see right through it, straight into ChalkZone.

...and allowing him to see Snap for the first time since the incident with Sandra..

There was a bit of silence for a few moments. The friends just stared at each other, both taking time to realize that this moment had just happened. It felt like they hadn't seen each other in forever. As they locked eyes with one another, they were unable to turn away, almost as if they'd fear of losing each other if they dare break their gaze. A swell of emotions rose up in their chests, causing them to smile at one another.

Rudy moved his eyes up and down, checking out Snap's condition. He was covered in bandages and looked to be in some pain. But most of that was overridden by the shere happiness that was etched on his face. Snap was grinning at him, his smile stretching from ear to hear. Rudy could feel his face stretching in a similar manner.

Snap broke the silence. "Hello, Bucko."

Rudy felt tears form in his eyes. "Snap..hello..." He paused for a moment. "H-How are you doing...?"

sss

"Are you absolutely sure? Is there no way that...?" Mrs. Tabootie asked, her eyes wide.

Mr. Tabootie tried his best to sound brave. "Isn't there anything that...?"

The doctor standing before them shook his head. In his hand, he held a clipboard. He glanced at it momentarily, flipping through the pages to see the results of whatever tests they had performed. They looked back at Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie and said, "I'm sorry, but the results show no improvement... But that is to expected. Spinal injuries don't heal."

Mr. Tabootie didn't want to believe what he heard. Even though he knew it was true. Even knew he knew that the doctor was not lying, that the spine would indeed not heal up, a part of him just didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to think that his only son would be reduced to life like this. Just how could he live like that? What would living even be like this way?

Trapped in a bed. Unable to move. Unable to do anything for himself. Feeling as though he was a burden to everyone. Not even able to take care of the simplest tasks, like going to the bathroom or bathing...

He tried to cling onto some hope. He tried to hold onto the belief that maybe, just maybe, something might improve. Even if it took a long time... even if it took forever and a half... He hoped and prayed that something would change. It just had to. Rudy...he didn't deserve this... Oh gawd..what had he done to earn this kind of cruel fate...?

"I wish I could bring you better news." The doctor said solemnly. He furrowed his eyes as he stared down at the paper. "If I could give all the answers, you know I would. But..." He looked back at the two grieving adults. "We've done all we could with what you were able to help us with. The rest is up to him. But I'm afraid there's little chance of any recovery. I..hope you think about the options."

Mrs. Tabootie shot him a glare. "We are not throwing our son away like that!"

"Of course not." The doctor said, raising his hand up. He then held it outwards in gesture. "I'm just saying...think of the consequences of whatever you choose. Not just for yourself, but for your son as well. Ask yourself this question." The doctor paused, staring into Mrs. Tabootie's furious face. "Do you think this is anyway for a child to live...?"

Mrs. Tabootie widened her eyes at this. She didn't say a word. She just stared at him for a few seconds. Then she turned to Mr. Tabootie. She trembled in emotion, and then she latched onto him, pulling him close. Mr. Tabootie wrapped his arms around her, embracing her. He gave a soft glare at the doctor. He got the hint and nodded his head, giving an apologetic look before turning and walking away.

Mr. Tabootie didn't want to be to angry with the doctor. He had just wanted to be realistic and make them face what was before them. He wasn't tryign to be cruel. He just wanted them to think of their son.

But that didn't make this any easier. He and his wife were stuck between two choices, both of which were terrible, and they'd regret it for the rest of their lives. They could euthanize him and put him out of his misery. But then..what if there's a chance he'd get better? Could they live with the guilt of ending his life just before help was found? Could they go through with ending their son's life at all? But if they keep him on, and he still lived...would it really be much better? Rudy could not take care of himself in any shape or form. He couldn't even scratch his nose, let alone make food for himself, or anything like that. He was a prisoner of his own body. Would letting him live really be the most merciful choice?

But oh gawd...it was still so hard... Why? Why did they have to make this choice...? No parent should have to do this. No parent should ever have to decide the fate of their child this way... No parent should hold their son or daughter's life in their hands, where their decision could either end their suffering, or prolong it. Unable to hold back for long, Mr. Tabootie felt tears form in his eyes.

"I...I don't...I don't want to.." Mrs. Tabootie whimpered softly. "Oh Joe... I can't do this. Why do... why..?"

Mr. Tabootie hugged his wife tighter. "It's going to be okay, Millie. You'll see." He paused for a moment. He bit his lip, trying to think of whatever he could to help his wife feel better. But all he could come up with was, "We'll...think of something."

"I...I hope so... I don't want to lose our baby boy.." Mrs. Tabootie said as she closed her eyes, her head pressed against her husband's shoulder. "It's just not fair..."

Mr. Tabootie looked down at his wife sympathetically. Seeing her cry like this...it broke his heart. He wanted to say something else. He wanted to try to cheer her up, but he couldn't think of anything. It was so frustrating. He usually knew what to say. He had been successful in the past. But now... what could he say? Their son was mostly paralyzed. What could he say to that...?

Nonetheless, he still tried. He held onto his wife tightly, rubbing her back gently. He whispered soft, comforting words to her. He said whatever he could think of try to calm her down. And gradually it worked. She still cried softly, but she was noticeably calmer than before. He smiled at this, still keeping her in his embrace.

He looked over at where their son was. Rudy was asleep, his eyes shut softly. The neckbrace was still on him. It had been a month now, and his neck still hadn't healed enough for the brace to be removed. The doctors say it would take a long time before it could be removed.

If it weren't for that neck brace, Mr. Tabootie would think that Rudy was just sleeping soundly. He looked so peaceful like this. It was like he had no care in the world. He imagined that sleep was his only gateway to happiness, outside of visits from loved ones. His dreams would take him far away, to other worlds, away from the cruel harshness of reality.

But that was merely a brief escape, and Rudy would wake up each time, realizing that he was still bed ridden, still unable to move or feel anything below his neck. This realization made his heart twist. He couldn't imagine how his son must feel. What a horrible thing to experience...

It made him wonder. It made him consider what the doctor had told them. It was an uncomfortable thought...but it was something that they had to consider. It was inevitable.

"Millie..what do you think of the option of...euthanizing our son...?" Mr. Tabootie said in a low, careful voice.

Mrs. Tabootie pulled away from him and stared at him in shock. She shook her head. "No... we can't do that.. Joe, he's our son!"

"Yes, and right now, he's paralyzed, unable to take care of himself." He paused for a moment. He sucked in a breath. "I don't mean right now. I'm just saying that... we should really consider it. But we won't go through with it unless everyone agrees. I...I don't want to..." His voice trailed off for a moment. "I just...wish we didn't have to make this decision..."

"Me, too. Joe..." Mrs. Tabootie whispered. "Me, too..."

The two adults embraced each other, crying softly. They both hoped and prayed that things would work out in the end. But odds were against them, and they may be forced to make the hardest decision of their lives.

Keep Rudy alive or end his suffering.

sss

Mint looked at Rudy sympathetically. He couldn't blame him for reacting this way. He watched as his friend cried on the bed, tears staining his cheeks. After what he had overhead, Mint wasn't surprised to see Rudy unleash his emotions like this.

Mint couldn't imagine what it was like to wake up and overhear his parents talk about the possibility of having to...let him go. It was a real shocker that broke through any doubt that he may have set up for himself to hide behind. Now more than ever, Rudy had to face the harsh reality. He may not pull out of this alive. He may be faced with making a difficult decision for himself. A decision that Mint would give anything to alleviate from him.

"No...they can't do this..no..." Rudy whimpered softly, his eyes red and puffy. "Please don't let them do it...please..."

Mint and Penny exchanged looks of sorrow with each other. It was devastating to see their friend like this. It had been a month and he was still paralyzed. Just as still as he had been before. Poor Rudy... He didn't deserve this kind of fate and yet... life can be so cruel at times.

They wished they could have done something faster. They wished they had gotten to him before Sandra could finish her attack. They wished that they had knocked her out of the way before his neck broke. But they were too slow. They were too late. And now their friend was suffering for it.

Despite knowing it wasn't their fault, they still blamed themselves for what had happened. They felt, in a way, responsible. They were there when Sandra attacked. They had seen it for themselves. They could have done..something...anything. But they failed. They had failed Rudy, and now he was laying in bed with a broken neck, and he may end up staying that way forever.

But there may be a silver lining...

It all depended on Mint's father. Mint had spoken to his dad a few times before. His dad was a bit uncooperative due to expenses and risks involved. But Mint felt that it was worth a shot. He hadn't said anything to Rudy, Penny, or Snap yet. He didn't want to give them false hope in case his dad refused to do it or it didn't work.

If it does, it may offer Rudy a chance at some kind of recovery. Mint didn't think that he'd heal up completely. The chances were slim. But he hoped that Rudy could, at the very least, regain some mobility so he didn't feel so trapped.

"Shh... It'll be okay, Rudy." Penny whispered. She stroked Rudy's hair, putting her face close to his. "You'll be okay. I promise..."

"I don't want to die! Don't let them kill me! Please!" Rudy wailed. His heart monitor started to go crazy. "Please don't let them!"

Penny put her arm across Rudy's chest carefully as she pressed her face against his. "Shush now.. It's okay. No one is going pull the plug on you yet." Penny rubbed her cheek against his, comforting him. "It's going to be okay. I promise..."

Rudy didn't attempt to speak after that. His breathing began to slow down, and his heart monitor began to return to normal. But his crying hadn't let up. His whimpers filled the room, nearly echoing off the walls. It filled the room with a sense of melancholy, twisting their hearts. They wished they could take away the sorrow and the pain, but in the end, they knew that it was up to time...and luck.

Mint hoped that somehow, someway, that miracle would happen. He hoped that Rudy would be able to walk again. That was all he wanted to see right now, all he craved. Rudy walking. Rudy being able to take care of himself like he had before.

He didn't want his wretched creation to get the final laugh on them. He and Penny had recovered. Snap was on his way to recovery and would be out of the hospital at some point in the somewhat near future. He hoped that Rudy would also be able to recover. He hoped that Sandra's mark on him would fade, and they would be able to enjoy themselves like they had before.

Only time would tell.

Only time.

sss

Three months passed. Three long, painstaking months. And there was no improvement in Rudy. It was just as the doctors had predicted. None of them believed that Rudy would recover, that he would be permanently bed ridden. It was a harsh reality that they all had to face. The more time passed, the more discouraged they all started to feel about the situation. They all became to realize just how final this all was.

It was beginning to take its toll on Rudy's psyche. The boy had tried to remain brave. He tried to face this with dignity, without freaking out. But the more he was trapped in bed, in the hospital, the more he realized more and more he may be trapped like this, and it ate away at his mind, tearing him up on the inside. And though he had tried his best to remain calm and quiet, it didn't last for very long, and occasionally he would snap.

His screaming and crying became a regular thing to hear at the hospital. He would cry for someone to get him out. He'd plead with someone to let him walk again. He'd bed the doctors to do something to help him. But there was nothing the doctors could do except give him some sedatives to calm down. This helped to an extent, but it did not stop the boy's tears, nor did it provide him with any hope.

It tore Penny, Mint, and Snap apart to see their friend like that. The adults, especially Rudy's parents, were torn apart by what Rudy was going through. They all did what they could to cheer him up. Penny and Mint would play games with them that only involved using his brain and thinking. Tilly and Sophie would sometimes bring him over music to listen to. His parents would tell him stories. Snap would try to tell jokes. And it would vary and change, with new ideas and new attempts at keeping Rudy from losing his sanity.

But it was a long and hard road. Rudy showed little signs of mental improvement, even with all their efforts. He was growing more and more unstable as the days passed. Some of his responses had taken on a more sarcastic tone, bitterness beginning to seep in as he realized his predicament.

He would apologize for it at least, especially if he ended up saying something particularly nasty. But it was still a difficult thing to bear. It wasn't so much Rudy's words that hurt them the most; it was the fact that he had to suffer like this. He had lost so much... They could only hope that he began to show signs of improvement soon.

sss

It happened. It finally happened. Mint was shocked it took this long. Four months later... But at least his dad had finally come through. His dad was able to do what Mint had suggested. And now, maybe, just maybe, things would begin to change.

Mint knew of some new research regarding spinal injuries. He knew that a group of scientists had managed to heal a rat's spine enough to allow it to walk again. It was a revolutionary procedure never before seen. When Mint heard about it, it sent chills up his spine and he knew that it could be used to help Rudy with his neck injury.

The procedure was risky, however, and there was a chance that it would have no effect at all, or even come with its own risks. It was one thing to operate on a rat. It was another story to try a human, a much larger organism.

But despite that, Mint still felt it was the best option that they had. They didn't want Rudy to have to die or live the rest of his life as a fleshy statue. This experiment was the next best thing. They had to give it a shot. They had to see if this new procedure was going to work for their friend. They had to try it and see if it could make any kind of difference.

It took some time, but he and his dad were able to convince the doctors to try this experiment with Rudy, but only if Rudy agreed. Understandable. It wouldn't be a good idea to try to operate on Rudy if he didn't know what they were doing, if he didn't concede to it and give permission. Mint could see where that would definitely be a problem.

He spoke to Rudy about it shortly after. The boy was mixed on the idea, and was uncertain what to think. On the one hand, Rudy was excited for the idea of possibly regaining some motor functions. But on the other, he was utterly terrified of what could happen if it all went wrong. He didn't want to be disappointed again. He had experienced too much disappointment. He didn't want to get his hopes up, only for them to be dashed again.

Mint couldn't blame him. After all that had happened, it would be hard to believe if anything worked at this point. Rudy being disappointed again and again had jaded him, and he just didn't want to get hurt again. Mint was certain that this procedure would be different. He remained positive, and spoke to Rudy with great certainty that the procedure would help him, somehow.

After some talking, they had all agreed to try the procedure. They weren't sure what to expect as they arranged for the operation. They weren't sure if it was going to work. They weren't sure what was going to happen. One thing was for certain: they'd never know until they tried.

And when the day of the surgery arrived, they all crossed their fingers and hoped for the best. As Rudy was wheeled into the operating room, Mint, his friends, and family all sat in the waiting room, watching him as he was taking away. They comforted each other through the crueling hours, hoping and praying that Rudy would make it out okay.

Everything rid on this risky procedure.

sss

Penny watched as Rudy opened up his eyes. She watched him intently, waiting to see him awake again. Rudy had been out for several hours after the surgery. He was just now starting to wake up. She had been waiting in his room for all this time, waiting for him to get up.

She was the only one in the room. Their parents were talking with the doctors on how to further treat Rudy's spine in case this worked, and Mint was using the bathroom down the hall since the one in Rudy's hospital room was on the fritz. Although she had to go, she decided to say behind. She wanted someone to be here for Rudy when he woke up. She didn't want him to wake up alone.

"P-Penny..?" Came Rudy's groggy voice. "What..what happened..?"

"You just had major surgery, Rudy. Please remain calm." Penny said soothingly to him.

"Surgery...?" Rudy narrowed his groggy eyes in confusion. Then it seemed to dawn on him and he nodded his head. "Oh yeah...the procedure..." He closed his eyes lightly and smacked his lips, licking them slowly. "Changes..?"

Penny bit her lip. "I'm..not sure. Do you feel any different?"

Rudy let out a soft moan. It was hard to tell, but judging from his expression, it seemed as though he was trying to move a finger or toe. And he was failing at it. His expression was clearly that of frustration. "No...No feeling. No movement... Nothing..." His voice became a whimper as reality began to strike him in the head. "Oh no...no..."

Penny couldn't tell if Rudy remembered everything so fast, or if just bits and pieces were returning. Either way, his reaction to it was heartbreaking. She could see the tears begin to stroll down his cheeks. For him, it was as though no procedure was done on him at all. It seemed as though nothing had changed, that he was trapped in that horrid bed forever.

But Penny knew otherwise. It was too early to say. They needed more time. They needed to wait before they jump to any conclusions. She knew what the doctors had said. She had to tell Rudy before he got himself too worked up.

"The doctors said it may take some time before the effects to be noticeable. They said you will need time for your spine to recover from the surgery. Then after that, they will check to see if any new connections had been made and, from there, figure out if the operation was a failure or success." Penny stared at Rudy for a few moments, smiling gently down at him as she stroked his cheek. "I'm sure the procedure will work, Rudy. Just give it sometime. You'll see. In just a few days, you'll be able to move your legs. Then you will begin the long road to recovery, and you will be just fine."

Rudy didn't say a word. He just whimpered and cried, his groggy mind bombarded by intense feelings of fear and emotion. Penny held onto him, gently pulling him close to her. She rested her chin on his head, careful not to move his neck the wrong way. Penny listened to his sobbing, feeling her heart twist in the process.

The doctors said the results won't come in for a few days at least. It was going to be a long wait, tearing apart everyone's minds at the seems. They all wanted to know what the results were faster. They wanted to know if the operation was a success or a failure. The tension of not knowing was far more terrifying than knowing what the answer was. This was driving them nuts. They had to know the answer...

...yet they knew they could not speed up the results. They could not do anything to get the results faster. They had no choice but to wait and see if there were any improvements thanks to the procedure.

Although they wished they could do more, they knew there was little they could do, except hope and pray that everything was going to work out in the end. She continued to hold onto Rudy, rubbing her cheek against his, whispering soft words of comfort.

"Shh...it's going to be okay... I promise..."

Penny wasn't sure how true those words were. But she would do whatever she could to fulfill it. Rudy was going to recover. He was going to be able to walk again, to move his arms and write and draw... She would see to that.

sss

Two days had passed since the surgery. And Rudy did not notice any kind of change. He still couldn't feel anything below his neck, not even the pain of the highly invasive surgery. Frustration began to seep through him. He could feel his face and neck heat up and chill down rapidly as he tried to cope with his predicament.

He had tried to be brave for his friends and family. He had tried to keep himself calm and be reasonable. But the reality of what happened to him weighed down, crushing him underneath its weight. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Why..? Why did this have to happen...? Why did he have to remain bed ridden? Why did he have to lose control of his arms and legs? Why did he have to become dependent on others in this way? He wanted to do things for himself for once. He wanted to be able to move around, to go anywhere whenever he wanted to, and not have to be strapped down to a wheelchair. He wanted to be able to run with his friends and have fun.

But he knew that was not going to happen anytime soon...if ever. He may be trapped like this forever. It was a cruel, harsh reality that he was just going to have to accept. He knew that the sooner he accepted this fate, the better off he was going to be.

But how could he accept this? How could he get used to this? Even to this day, a long time after the incident, he was still having nightmares about Sandra. He was still terrified of going to sleep, thinking that any time he'd shut his eyes, she would be there, biting his throat... Oh gawd, he...he had to get out of here, somehow.

Suddenly, he could hear the loud beeping of his heart monitor. His heart was racing against his chest. Even without feeling there, he could feel the pressure of something hitting against his chest. He tried to calm himself down, but the more he tried, the more panicked he felt. The realization that he may never be able to move again, create art, do anything anymore, ripped his heart open and crushed his mind. Unable to hold it back for long, he let out a scream.

"Rudy Tabootie!" Came a masculine voice. "Please stop! Don't get yourself worked up!"

Rudy didn't listen. He attempted to turn himself from side to side. He could feel his neck move slightly. This was put to an end when something warm gripped his forehead and held him still. Rudy let out a few more screams, trying to fight against whatever had gripped him.

"Please stop this at once!" The voice called out again.

This time, Rudy managed to recognize who the voice belonged to. He opened up his eyes and mooved his pupils up. The hand obscured most of the view, but Rudy caught a glimpse of the outfit and body shape, and he knew of only one person who looked like this.

"M-Mr. Wilter..?" Rudy asked in a low voice. "What are you doing here...?"

Mr. Wilter moved his hand out of the way. He looked down at the boy. Rudy could see a look of concern on his face, his eyes narrowed slightly. He moved a little closer until he was right beside Rudy.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. I heard you just got some major surgery done." Mr. Wilter said.

Rudy frowned at this. "Yeah, and it didn't work."

"Well the doctors did say it would take some time." Mr. Wilter held up his hand in gesture. "You can't expect miracles over night."

Rudy wanted to try to stay positive. He wanted to remain hopeful. But he found himself unable to. His frown deepened and he let out a soft growl. "Yeah, well I have a feeling that all my luck has run out." He couldn't believe how bitter he sounded, but at the moment, he didn't care too much. "I...I am never going to get out of this place."

Mr. Wilter looked sadly down at Rudy. "Now don't say that..."

"It's true, though! Look at me! Look at what I've become!" Rudy shrieked. His heart monitor began to act up again. "I'm just a potato laying in a field! A piece of paper on the back of a printer! A rock situated on a hill! I can't do anything for myself! I've become just a burden to everyone!"

"Now now, Rudy..." Mr. Wilter said. "Your friends and family don't mind helping you. They love you. You know that."

Rudy took in a few ragged breaths before he gave an exasperated sigh. "Yeah I know... I just..can't help but feel that way." His breathing became a little shaky. "I had so much ahead of me...and now I'm...I'm this.. And I may never recover. It's...it's over..."

Mr. Wilter shook his head. "No...No it's not over." He reached down and gently patted Rudy on the head. "I know it seems bad. But there is still time. There is still a chance." He raised his other hand in gesture. "Don't rule things out so easily, Rudy. You didn't do that so much in my class. Don't do it here, either. I know you better than that."

Rudy shifted his eyes away, down towards the bed. "I'm...I'm trying..."

"I know it may not have seemed like it, but I do regard you as one of my more promising students."

Rudy was shocked by this. He immediately looked back up at Mr. Wilter, his eyes bulging. "R-Really...?" Mr. Wilter smiled and nodded. "But what about my cartoons? I thought you..."

"Well it is true I don't like rude cartoons. But I know how much you like them. And I admit, I'd like to see you be able to draw again..." Mr. Wilter looked down at Rudy's paralyzed right arm. He bit his lip, his face contorting into sadness. "Life can throw us a tough wheel at times."

Rudy frowned. "Yeah, no kidding."

"I see you as a promising student because you don't give up. Even when I am wrong but won't admit it, you still have the guts to stand up to me and prove my error." Mr. Wilter stroked Rudy's head a bit, being as gentle as he could. "Please don't give up on yourself. Try to hold onto hope. The procedure might work. Just give it some time. Please."

Rudy lowered his gaze, thinking about Mr. Wilter's words. He took them into consideration. He knew that he was right on some level. Rudy hadn't given up before. He had always faced the roughest roads and came out on top. He had managed to go up aginst many dangers and situations, and though they were hard, he didn't give up then, even when all seemed lost. He didn't give up then. So he shouldn't give up now.

But it was still going to be hard. Those other times weren't like this. He had been like this for months now, or maybe longer. He had all but lost track of time. Everything seemed to muddle together when he could do nothing but lay in bed. But...he couldn't give up. Mr. Wilter was right. He couldn't give up.

Smiling lightly at his teacher, trying to sound as confident as he could, Rudy said, "...okay. I'll try, Mr. Wilter. I'll try."

Mr. Wilter smiled down at him.

sss

Later that day, Rudy got a visit from his mother and father. They had stopped by about two hours after Mr. Wilter had to leave. Rudy was grateful for the company. He hated being alone in this place. It always made him feel better when someone would stay with him.

But there was a part of him that wasn't entirely happy to see his parents. He had never brought it up before, but he had overheard them talking about the possibility of letting him go. A part of him felt a bit nervous around him because of that. They were his parents, and he knew they loved him, and he knew that euthanizing him if the procedure didn't work would hurt them so much. But he couldn't help but feel a little scared around him, unsure of what they were going to do.

But this time, he did bring it up with them. And their reaction was just as he had expected it to be.

"Oh Rudy! You know we love you! We would never..." Mrs. Tabootie whispered softly. She sniffled as she stroked Rudy's hair. "How could you think that...we'd...?"

"I know, mom. I just..can't help it. With all that happened..." Rudy's voice trailed off. His cheeks were stained with tears. A sense of guilt was rising up inside of him. "I'm sorry."

"Oh don't worry about it, Rudy. We know you didn't mean it." Mr. Tabootie said, trying to comfort his son. "This is a very devastating situation. Such tragedies can screw with anyone's minds. Just know that we are here for you and we are going to do whatever we can to help you through this. Okay...?"

Rudy would have nodded his head if he could. "Yeah...I know."

His parents smiled down at him. They remained with him while he settled himself down. For a little while, no one said a word. Rudy didn't mind. Just his parents being there was enough to calm him down. The silence would only drive him mad if there was no one there with him.

Rudy felt bad about how he felt before. He knew that his parents wouldn't have given up on him. He didn't know why felt that they would, even for a split moment. He felt so awful.. He wanted to make it up to them. He wanted to hug them and tell them it was all right. But there was nothing he could do except smile reassuringly at them. His parents smiled back, but they could not hug him. Not without risking hurting him more; his neck was still recovering.

After a few moments, his dad decided to break the silence. His father reached forward and laid his hand on Rudy's head. "Don't worry, son. Things will get better. You'll see.."

"Yeah." His mother sniffled. Although she knew he wouldn't be able to feel it, she laid her hand on Rudy's arm. "It will be okay." She ran her hand along Rudy's arm. "Soon you'll be able to draw again, like you always loved to do..."

Rudy smiled at his parents. He tried his best to look strong for them. He remembered what Mr. Wilter, his friends, everyone had told him. Despite the doctors' worries, there was still a chance that things could work out. He had to try to stay positive, and hope for the best. He couldn't give up. He..

..that's when he noticed something. He hadn't been paying attention to it before. He hadn't realized it until now. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that he had...felt something. Faint, extremely faint, like a feather. But it was there.

His parents noticed his change in expression and they looked down at him worriedly.

"Son..? What is it?" Mr. Tabootie asked. "What's wrong...?"

"Is something...?" Mrs. Tabootie's voice trailed off.

"My...my arm..." Rudy said in a low voice. His eyes were wide not from pain, but from disbelief. "I..I felt something..." He stared up at his parents. His mouth ticked into a small smile. "I can feel my arm..."

It took only seconds for his parents to register this information. They both gave a cry of joy and hugged each other. Tears of happiness streamed down their face. Rudy couldn't stop his own tears from falling either.

Finally, after all this time...some good news had happened..

The realization that Rudy could actually feel something, even if just faint, it was momentous for him and his parents. After so long of being numb below his neck, to sense something in his arm... It brought a torrent of emotions in the boy. He tried not to let it go to his head. He knew there was still a long ways to go. But he still cherished this moment as he cried happily with his parents.

He could only hope that things would go uphill from here. He hoped that, as time went on, he would regain more and more movement. And maybe, after all this was over, hopefully, he would be back to normal. But no one had the answers to that...except time itself.

sss

The news of Rudy regaining some sensation shocked the doctors and delighted his friends and family. It was a shocking but welcome development, and the doctors ran some tests to make sure Rudy was telling the truth. They were able to confirm that there were some new reconnections in his spinal cord. The treatment had worked, on some level.

For the next couple of months, Rudy experienced a steady incline of improvements. The journey was long and hard. The therapy was at times painful and exhausting, especially after he regained nearly all feeling back in his arms. But he was still grateful for it, and went along with the therapy, his friends and family with him every step of the way.

Therapy was required even months later to help him regain mobility that had been lost in his hands. Slowly, surely, he began to regain some movement, and eventually was able to do more delicate things with his fingers, like hold small objects and even write. When he had finally been able to draw after all that time, it was a beautiful moment he'd never forget. Even though his art skills suffered greatly from lack of usage and his arm still being weak, the fact that he could draw at all was enough of a celebration in his eyes.

However, things weren't all sunny and roses. His legs were an entirely different matter. He did regain some feeling and motion in them, but even months later, they were largely useless. His arms had been easier to heal because they were much closer to the damaged area. But his legs were furthest down. Some reconnections had been made, but the doctors had doubts he would ever fully regain use of them.

It was a downer on what was otherwise an uphill climb. Rudy had come to accept that his legs may remain useless for the rest of his life. Maybe in the far future, when technology got more advanced, he might be able to use them again. But for now, he had agreed to the use of a wheelchair. A devastating thing for him to use at such a young age, but after what he experienced, he learned to take whatever life threw at him. Being mobile in a wheelchair was much better than being immobile in a hospital bed.

Then, after another month of intense therapy and training to help him use the wheelchair, like getting in and out on his own, he was discharged from the hospital, much to his delight and the joy of his friends and family. When he had been brought home, he was immediately greated with a surprise party welcoming him back. The sight of it brought tears to his eyes.

He enjoyed the cake, the games, the movies, but most of all, he enjoyed being him with those he cared about. He was overjoyed to not being trapped in the hospital anymore, and being back in familiar surroundings. He enjoyed the party not simply because it was being held for him, but because it reminded him of all he went through, and how he had, for the most part, triumphed in the end.

He resettled into his home after a few days. His parents added this device...he forgot what it was called, but it would allow him to ride down the railing so he can get up the stairs without problem. It helped him feel welcome in his own home instead of trapped in his room. He got used to the wheelchair and had regained most of his independence. Showering was still a problem, but other than that, he was doing well.

He still hadn't regained much movement and feeling in his legs. His mind no longer panicked, however. He had resigned himself to his fate. If being stuck in a wheelchair was a trade off to regaining some mobility and returning home, then he would take it.

To be back home at all was incredible, and he often felt himself flushed in emotion. A part of him wondered if this was reality or not. But he knew it was. Slowly, as he slept and woke up day after day, the nightmares faded away, to the point where they no longer bothered him. The instance of Sandra biting and breaking his neck was relegated to a distant memory, pushed aside in favor of the present. And with the help of his friends, it only got better.

sss

"Are you sure this is okay?" Rudy asked. He looked over at the large chalkboard nervously. "I-I don't know if..."

"It will be okay. We promise." Mint said, placing his hand on his shoulder. "We took care to buy the biggest chalkboard that they had."

"We know that you missed ChalkZone. So we wanted to help you find a way back in." Penny said.

Rudy couldn't help but smile at this. It was true that he hadn't set foot in ChalkZone since the incident. For much of the time, the reason had been obvious. He couldn't move anything and his neck was still damaged and healing. And lately, his wheelchair prevented easy access. His old chalkboard may ahve been large, but it was not big enough for his wheelchair to fit through.

So he had been relegated to talking to his zoner friends through the portable chalkboard. He was glad to see that everything and everyone was doing much better. Snap had informed him of all the latest updates, keeping Rudy in the know of what was happening lately.

Sandra's Alcove had been torn down and replaced with some kind of therapy place. Many of the zoners were traumatized by the events, whether it was being influenced unknowingly, or eating someone that they knew without realizing it, or losing a loved on, in the fire or in the form of food. The therapy place helpd the zoners slowly being to recover mentally, and according to Snap, they were doing much better. Shrapnel Tower had been rebuilt, this time with many security features put into place. It had been converted into a new restaurant, this time with legit, non-morally questionable ingredients.

Ripclaw and Mosaic had both completely recovered from their injuries. Both were treated like heroes, and recieved a medal of honor, even though they both wouldn't really know what to do with them. Ripclaw had found a new job at the hospital when it was discovered that she and Mosaic got along well. No longer simply a mascot, Mosaic, along with Ripclaw, were a new security system, and they were taken much more seriously after Mosaic's persistance helped stop a murderer.

Snap had fully recovered from his injuries at this point. Some faint scars remained, but they were hidden underneath his leotard. It was as if nothing had happened to him. Snap had recieved numerous apologies from zoners that had accused him, and bridges that had been damaged were mended. And the same zoners, including the ones that had attacked them, apologized to Mint and Penny, and sent their apologies to Rudy. Rudy was glad to hear that it was finally all straightened out.

The zones in the mob had been released for good behavior. It also helped that they had shown how very sorry they were and how they, like the rest, wanted to make amends.

Especially Taima.

Rudy learned that Taima was the leader of the mob, and that he had beaten up Snap badly in the jail. He had turned over a new leaf and apologized to Snap. He had since become a good friend to Snap and had helped him during his recovery. Same thing with Dr. Gelcro, the doctor who had previously blamed Snap the most. With their help, Snap was able to get out of the hospital faster.

Sandra hadn't escaped from her prison of solitude, and there were doubts she'd ever get out anytime soon. They hadn't heard a peep out of her, and nothing regarding her machine or signal had ever been heard from again. It still scared Rudy that one of the artifacts had somehow ended up in her possession and was used against the zoners. But at least it was all over now.

Rudy missed going into ChalkZone so much. There were times when he wanted to crawl through and be in it again. But for so long, he just couldn't do that. But now..things had changed.

Mint and Penny had chipped in and bought a huge chalkboard, one that was nearly the size of Mr. Wilter's. It rested on a support system. Penny was pushing it over towards him. It touched the bottom almost completely, letting him be able to push his wheelchair into the portal, and back into ChalkZone. The sight of it made his mouth tick into a smile. Such a thing must have been so expensive... But his two friends didn't seem to mind. Why would they? He was their friend after all. Just seeing him happy was enough for them.

"Come on, we better hurry up if we are going to be there in time for the party." Penny said.

Rudy's eyes widened at this. "Party...?" He turned his head and looked up at his friends. "What party?"

"Oh we didn't tell you?" Mint rubbed his head a bit sheepishly. "Well we spoke to some of the zoners and we decided to throw you a party to welcome you back into ChalkZone."

Penny nodded her head. "They miss you so much, Rudy. They want to see you again. They want to welcome you back."

Rudy let this all sink in. He hadn't expected a party. He hadn't expected the zoners to go through all that trouble just for him. The fact that they did.. It showed him just how much they really cared about him. He could feel happiness swell up inside of him. He gave a nod of his head.

"Okay then. Let's go." Rudy said. He gave a slight chuckle. "We can't keep them waiting for too long, right?"

Mint smiled at this. "No..no we should not."

"Here we go." Penny said as she drew a massive portal. The light shimmered and all three of them could see into ChalkZone.

Rudy stared at the light, feeling it bathe on his body. He felt Mint push his wheelchair, aiding him over the bump. And before he knew it, he was in ChalkZone. He looked around, taking in the realization that he was finally back in the world he had fought to protect, and loved to explore. The emotions were overwhelming.

"Bucko!" Snap cried, his voice high pitched with elation. "You made it! You're finally here!"

Rudy smiled. "Hello, Snap. I..."

He didn't get a chance to finish. All of a sudden, Snap lunged at him, landing in his stomach and chest. He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him into a hug. Rudy stared at him in shock before wrapping his arms around him and hugging him back. They stayed like this for several seconds before they finally parted.

"Come on! We need to go! The zoners are waiting for you!" Snap cried, jumping up and down in excitement. "Follow me!"

Instantly, the three followed Snap as he began to lead them somewhere. Mint still held onto Rudy's wheelchair, pushing it. It wasn't a sign that he felt he couldn't help himself. It was an act of kindness. Rudy leaned back in his wheelchair and relaxed as they headed through ChalkZone, moving along some small hills as they headed towards the Candycane Forest.

In the distance, Rudy could make out a large, red banner being held up in the air. He could read the message loud and clear from there.

"Welcome Back, Great Protector Of ChalkZone!"

Rudy smiled at this. Tears of happiness strolled down his face. And as they got closer, he could see many zoners, including Lars, Rapsheeba, Blocky, and Chalk Dad waving to him, jumping up and down and cheering his return.

Intense emotion twisted around his heart. Rudy couldn't stop smiling. Seeing this, the zoners cheering for him, coming up to him, his friends being there with him, it reminded him of how lucky he was, and how sometimes, life can be merciful, not just cruel. He may not be able to walk anymore, but he still regained some things, and he still had friends and family that cared about him.

And that's what mattered the most.

sss

"I don't know about this..." The zoner said nervously, her voice barely a whisper. "What if she...?"

The other zoner shook his head. "Oh don't worry about it. She can't do anything to hurt you. Just open the door real quick, toss the food in, and shut it. She won't be fast enough."

He watched as the female zoner gave a sigh of relief, but still looked nervous. He couldn't blame her. They had been tasked with the job of feeding Sandra. He had done this many times before, but she...well she was new. It was something to get used to, especially lately since Sandra almost never had any company. The isolation had started to drive her mad. Some could handle it...but she could not.

The female zoner he was with carried the food on a large plate. Lots of meat cuts they had gotten from a local butcher. It was feeding time now. Although he would rather just let Sandra die, he knew that this punishment was much worse, and much more deserving of her.

They headed down the corridor until they reached a round door. He took out his keys and opened it up. Despite its name, the Vortex Of Solitude was not really a vortex; just a fancy name to make it sound more serious. It was more just a very large, heavily padded, heavily insulated room. It was called that due to it looking like it was outer space. A purple and black sky, many stars, and a sharp, rocky surface.

He pushed the door open and looked around. Sandra was nowhere in sight. He motioned to his companion to go in and set down the food. She hesitated for a few moments, but, upon encouragement, she went in slowly. She walked in cautiously, looking left and right. He wanted her, making sure to keep an eye out for Sandra. They never knew when she would show up.

Slowly, the female zoner sat the food down about fifteen feet away from the door. Then she backed away slowly. He had made sure to tell her to move slowly, otherwise she might trigger something. But he could see her begin to panic, especially when she heard scrapes and growls in the air. Before he could say anything, she bolted.

"No! Stop!" He wailed at her, waving his hands. "She'll...!"

It was too late. Faster than he could have predicted, there was a flash of blue, and a loud screech as it slammed against his partner. He quickly shut the door and held it tightly. His partner, crying and screaming, managed to fend off her attacker and came towards the door. She began to pound on it furiously.

"Let me out! Let me out!" She cried, tears streaming down her face. "Please!"

As much as he wanted to, he knew he could not do it. He merely shook his head, looking at her sadly as Sandra came in from behind. He snapped his head back in horror as the female zoner was pushed up against the glass window, blood staining the clear surface. This only lasted a few seconds before she was yanked back.

The zoner shut his eyes and cringed as he heard the sounds of screams and cracks fill the air. He dare not look, the cries of pain and terror filling his heart, twisting it. A wave of massive guilt swept through him as he was forced to allow Sandra to tear her apart in favor of keeping her from getting out. Then there was a sickening grunch and a gurgled cry, and he knew it was all over. He dared a glance.

Sandra, who no longer had her armor or cape on, who still wore the metal helmet to block her powers, stood over his former partner. Her body had been ripped to shreds, one limb removed and large chunks of flesh gone, some organs and bone exposed. Sandra was digging in voraciously, tearing off pieces of meat and swallowing them whole. The sight was absolutely nauseating.

Then Sandra looked over at him. He froze, staring into her crazed, feral eyes, her teeth pulled back into a wicked smile. It was clear that so much time alone had not done anything to improve her already dangerous demeanor...

Sandra looked away, down at the corpse she was eating. "You're not Snap. I still see you as Snap. He will pay. You will pay for him. I'll get him somehow. I'll get him!"

The male zoner let out a cry of terror at Sandra's frantic, insanity-filled cries. He watched her for a couple more seconds, holding back the urge to throw up as she ripped out his former partner's intestines and chewed on them like they were candy.

Unable to take it anymore, he turned around and ran away. Sandra's chilling laughter filled the air.


End file.
